4 kids die in Pasay fire

MANILA, Philippines - Four children died in a fire that struck a shantytown in Pasay City on Wednesday night.

The bodies of John Vero Guarino, 8; Aya Chantal Guarino, 5; Kim Argarin, 7; and Patrick Aries Romano, 5 months old were found totally burned in the room of a shanty that belonged to the Guarino family, said Fire Officer 1 May Balein.

Investigators are still trying to find out why Romano and Argarin were in the Guarinos’ shanty at the time of the fire, which started just before 10 p.m. from one of the shanties.

The fire reached Task Force Delta at around midnight before it was put out at past 5 a.m. yesterday.

No one else was reported injured in the fire, which razed 75 shanties and left at least 150 families homeless, the Pasay fire department said.

Arson probers have yet to determine what caused the blaze.