3 die, 16,000 homeless in Zamboanga fire

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A 70-year-old man and two minors were charred to death, three others suffered burns while an estimated 16,000 civilians were rendered homeless in big fire that struck a slum area late Friday afternoon in a coastal village in this city.

The 70-year-old fatality was identified as Muhammad Aman while the two minors remain unknown, according to the village chief of Campo Islam.

The conflagration broke out at about 3:40 p.m. Friday and rapidly spread to adjacent houses mostly made of light materials.

Probers are still determining the cause of the fire that razed an estimated 400 houses. Damage was initially placed at P2 million.

Elements of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) managed to contain the fire after almost two hours and before it threatened to engulf the oil mill of Internal Copra (Interco).

The city government immediately mobilized its social welfare office and gave relief assistance to the fire victims. — Roel Pareño