4 dead in Pasay fire

MANILA, Philippines - Four persons, including a pregnant woman and an eight-year-old girl, were killed in a fire that struck a shantytown in Barangay Kalayaan, Pasay City yesterday morning.

The bodies of Cindy Pakira, 8; her grandmother, Nida Dakimat, 50; Dakimat’s son, Ramil, 24; and his 19-year-old partner Dana Mente, who is four months pregnant, were found huddled in a creek where their burnt shanty collapsed at around 4 a.m.

The slum area is in Sitio Sapatasahai, located along the Merville Access Road.

The fire started at around 3:45 a.m. in the house of Mario Barachea and spread to adjoining shanties, Senior Fire Officer 2 Daniel Mansala said. 

The fire reached general alarm at around 4:45 a.m. Firefighters from the Pasay Central Fire Station put out the blaze just before 9 a.m.

Arson investigators said the fire destroyed at least P1.5 million in property and left 450 families homeless.

The city government sheltered the victims at a nearby gym.

Arson investigators have yet to state what caused the fire.