MANILA: The death toll has risen to 72 in a fire that gutted a rubber slipper factory in the Philippine capital of Manila, a firefighter said on Thursday, as police vowed swift action against those responsible for the mishap.
Wednesday's fire reflects poor occupational health and safety standards that are a challenge for Southeast Asia's fastest growing nation to tackle, analysts say.
As many as 72 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the two-storey factory, fire official Sergio Soriano Jr. said on radio, shortly after Rexlon Gatchalian, mayor of Valenzuela city in Manila, announced a toll of 58, with 13 missing.
Estimates by local government and fire officials have been in conflict since Wednesday, complicated by the difficulties of retrieving bodies from the wreckage.
Police said the fire started when sparks from a welding machine set ablaze flammable chemicals near the main entrance of the factory, triggering a huge explosion, followed by billows of black smoke and flames.
"Definitely there will be charges here, because people died," said Leonardo Espina, acting director of the Philippine National Police.
"Regardless of whether it was an accident or arson, people died. We are just determining what exactly happened so that we can clearly define what charges to file."
Arson investigators have gone to the site to help city police in the probe, he added.
The incident showed President Benigno Aquino's government in poor light, said Eufracia Taylor, an analyst at global risk analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft.
"The factory fire is a blow to the Aquino administration, which has prided itself on improving workplace conditions and prioritising compliance with labour standards," Taylor said.
Factory owner Veato Ang said about 200 to 300 people worked in the factory, which made flip-flops and slippers for Kentex Manufacturing Inc.
Identifying the charred remains of victims will be a difficult task, said Dionesio Candido, whose 19-year-old daughter was among the factory workers.
"I entered the building because I thought I might still be able to identify the remains," said Candido, 62.
But he saw four piles of charred bones and skulls, with the victims appearing to be hugging each other.
"When I saw them, (I felt) any parent or sibling would not be able to identify the victims," Candido added.
Wednesday's fire reflects poor occupational health and safety standards that are a challenge for Southeast Asia's fastest growing nation to tackle, analysts say.
As many as 72 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the two-storey factory, fire official Sergio Soriano Jr. said on radio, shortly after Rexlon Gatchalian, mayor of Valenzuela city in Manila, announced a toll of 58, with 13 missing.
Police said the fire started when sparks from a welding machine set ablaze flammable chemicals near the main entrance of the factory, triggering a huge explosion, followed by billows of black smoke and flames.
Advertisement
"Regardless of whether it was an accident or arson, people died. We are just determining what exactly happened so that we can clearly define what charges to file."
Advertisement
The incident showed President Benigno Aquino's government in poor light, said Eufracia Taylor, an analyst at global risk analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft.
Advertisement
Factory owner Veato Ang said about 200 to 300 people worked in the factory, which made flip-flops and slippers for Kentex Manufacturing Inc.
Advertisement
"I entered the building because I thought I might still be able to identify the remains," said Candido, 62.
Advertisement
"When I saw them, (I felt) any parent or sibling would not be able to identify the victims," Candido added.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Families of 57 Workers Who Died in Worst Philippine Factory Fire Drop Claims for Settlement Philippines Pushes Job Safety Laws After Deadly Factory Fire Death Toll From Philippine Factory Fire Rises to 45, 26 Missing: Mayor Windows Computers Lead To 'Blue Screen Of Death' Due To CrowdStrike Error In 1st Statement After Outage, CrowdStrike CEO Says... Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Law Will Take Its Course: Puja Khedkar Breaks Silence On Allegations "Atmanirbharta" Cannot Be At Cost Of Nation's Defence: Air Force Vice Chief CrowdStrike CEO Says "Deeply Sorry" For Tech Outage: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.