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[h=4]Death toll in Philippine factory fire rises to 72[/h]The number of people who died in a fire at a footwear factory in the Philippines increased to 72, police said Thursday.
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A fire gutted a rubber slipper factory in a suburb of the Philippine capital on Wednesday, possibly killing dozens of workers who ran to the second floor in hopes of escaping only to become trapped by smoke and fire, officials said. (May 13) AP
Firemen train their hoses at the burning Kentex footwear factory at Valenzuela city, a northern suburb in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday.(Photo: AP)
The number of people who died in a fire at a footwear factory in the Philippines increased to 72, police said Thursday.
The fire started just before noon on Wednesday and raged for over five hours on the outskirts of the capital, Manila.
The total number of survivors remains unclear but five people were pulled alive from the blaze on Wednesday.
The rising death toll comes as a relative of several of the victims said Thursday the blaze had trapped workers in the building's second floor where iron grills on windows prevented their escape.
Dionesio Candido, whose daughter, granddaughter, sister-in-law and niece were among the missing, said that the grills reinforced with fencing wire "could prevent even cats from escaping."
As forensic officers on Thursday worked to establish the identities of those killed, questions were being raised by local authorities over whether the factory followed fire and building safety standards.
Leonardo Espina, a senior police officer, said charges will be filed against "all those accountable and those at fault."
Meanwhile, fire marshal Mel Jose Lagan said arson investigators will look into why people were unable to escape from the second floor when there was a "sufficient exit" that includes a wide stairway to the back of the building leading to the outside.
They will also look into whether there were more people inside the building than allowed.
Iron grill bars on windows are common in offices, factories and homes in the Philippines to keep away thieves. In workplaces or factories, they are also meant to prevent employees from stealing equipment or products.
The building was occupied by the Kentex Manufacturing Corp. factory.
Investigators suspect the blaze may have spread especially quickly because some of the chemicals used by the factory to make slippers and shoes are highly flammable.
One of the deadliest industrial accidents ever occurred in Bangladesh in 2013 when more than 1,100 people were killed after a factory building that supplied clothing for many retailers in the West collapsed outside that country's capital Dhaka.
Contributing: Associated Press
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