Zero chance of survival: fire rips through Philippine shopping centre, killing at least 37 people
Davao mayor calls for investigation into the blaze and orders firefighters not to stop until they find all the victims
At least 37 people, including call centre staff from an American firm, are believed to have perished in a fire that tore through a shopping centre in the southern Philippine city of Davao, local authorities said on Sunday.
President Rodrigo Duterte, himself a Davao native, visited distraught relatives outside the burning building overnight Saturday but told them there was “zero” chance their loved ones had survived, witnesses said.
Firefighters found one body as the blaze was finally extinguished on Sunday, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte – the president’s daughter – told reporters.
Firefighters have concluded that all those trapped in the building are dead, she said, adding: “They assessed that no one would survive in that heat and with that thick, black smoke.”
The fire adds fresh misery for mainly Catholic Philippines at Christmas after tropical storms killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands in recent days.