Five people have perished in a raging inferno that tore through a hotel and casino complex in Manila, authorities said Monday, after firefighters battled more than 24 hours to put out the blaze which raged from Sunday morning to early Monday.
One of several people injured in the fire at the Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino was fighting for her life in a hospital, Bureau of Fire Protection officials said.
Rescuers said billowing smoke, sometimes so dense it obscured the 22-floor Waterfront Manila Pavilion, had hampered their efforts to contain the blaze which started Sunday morning.
The dead were all casino employees, and another of the workers was still in critical condition. About 20 people were injured.
Around 300 guests and more than 70 employees, who were evacuated from the Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino as the fire raged through several floors, have all been accounted for, firefighters said.
"We are hoping no one was left behind in the rooms. Our firefighters have not yet gone up all parts of the building," Metro ManilaDevelopment Authority acting chief Jojo Garcia said.
Police and firefighters blocked off the areas around the hotel, which lies in the heart of Manila’s Ermita tourist and commercial district, to allow dozens of fire trucks to approach and fight the blaze.
Some firefighters were treated after inhaling the dense smoke, which shrouded the chaotic scene on Sunday.
"The smoke was so big, so you can just imagine, there was zero visibility and our firefighters had difficulty breathing. Even outside the building there was zero visibility and it was much harder to operate inside," Manila district fire marshal Jonas Silvano told radio DZBB.
The hotel is owned and operated by Acesite (Phils.) Hotel Corp, a subsidiary of Waterfront Philippines Inc.
“Hotel operations have been temporarily suspended until the proper clearances from the government regulatory agencies have been obtained,” Acesite told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
The company said it was still waiting for the BFP’s final report on what really caused the fire.
Firefighters said several floors of the 509-room hotel were “totally damaged” but their investigation was still incomplete.
Deadly blazes break out regularly in the Philippines, particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no safety standards.
The deadliest in recent years was in suburban Manila where 72 people died in 2015 at a factory which makes rubber sandals.
But more modern buildings have also gone up in huge, deadly blazes.
In December, 38 people died in a fire at a four-story shopping mall in the southern city of Davao.
