Shantytown Fire in Manila Leaves 5,000 Homeless
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MANILA — A fire Saturday gutted a shantytown here, razing about 1,500 shacks and leaving more than 5,000 people homeless, Philippine officials said.
At least nine people were injured, including a man who was trying to steal electrical wires but fell from a utility post, said Manila fire operations chief Capt. Bienvenido Escoto.
Escoto said the fire spread quickly, consuming the wooden shanties packed in a five-acre community in the capital’s Santa Ana district.
More than 700 firefighters and 100 firetrucks, many coming from nearby cities, helped put out the blaze but were hampered by the narrow streets blocked by personal belongings of residents fleeing the fire, Escoto said.
The blaze was extinguished by midday, about five hours after it began, he said.
He said firefighters persuaded about 50 residents to demolish their own shanties to stop the flames from jumping to other houses.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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