Couple dead in Marikina fire

MANILA, Philippines - An elderly couple died in a six-minute fire that destroyed their house in Barangay Tumana, Marikina City yesterday.

The bodies of Sebastian Librando, 74, and his wife, Evangeline, 73, were found by responding firemen in their bedroom.

Arson probers said Sebastian was bedridden while Evangeline was also sick and hardly able to move.

The couple appeared to be sound asleep when the fire broke out at past 1 a.m., Senior Superintendent Felixberto Abrenica said.

The locked gate and the grills on the windows delayed the firefighters.

Abrenica placed the damage to property at P10,000. Arson investigators have yet to determine what caused the blaze.