Woman, 70, dies in Manila fire

MANILA, Philippines —  A 70-year-old woman died in a fire that gutted a cluster of houses in Sta. Cruz, Manila yesterday.

Mary Castillo was found in her room on the second floor of an apartment that was beside a row of shanties along C.M. Recto Avenue in Barangay 299, Zone 29, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection’s National Capital Region office.

The blaze started at around 5:43 a.m., destroyed at least 10 houses, leaving 20 families homeless, and reached third alarm before it was put out at around 7:30 a.m.

Fourteen BFP fire trucks and 20 more from local government and volunteer groups helped put out the blaze.

The BFP has yet to determine what caused the fire, which caused P20,000 property damage.