MANILA, Philippines — A massive fire hit the Manila Central Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio in the early hours of Monday.
The blaze at the iconic building, which is a national historical landmark, reached General Alarm, requiring 80 firetrucks to respond.
Second Alarm was earlier raised at 1:09 a.m., the Manila Public Information Office said in a Facebook post.
The Manila Central Post Office is the headquarters of the government-owned and controlled Philippine Postal Corp. The main mail sorting and distribution operations of the country are also housed at the Post Office.
Construction on the neoclassical building designed by renowned Filipino architects Juan Arellano and Tomás Mapúa began in 1926.
During the Battle of Manila in World War II, the building was severely damaged but was rebuilt in 1946. — Xave Gregorio