Photo: Jam Sta Rosa Agence France-Presse A man carries a dog during a fire in Tondo in Manila on November 24, 2024.
Agence France-Presse
Published at 12:00 p.m.
- Asia
Flames and thick black smoke billow into the sky over Manila on Sunday, where a fire is ravaging hundreds of homes in a shantytown, the Philippine capital’s fire department said.
The Philippine capital’s fire and rescue department said about 1,000 homes were affected by the blaze, which is believed to have started on the second floor of one of the homes.
There are no reports of casualties so far.
Drone footage posted online by the city’s disaster agency showed homes engulfed in flames.
According to firefighters, some 2,000 families lived in this shanty town, located in the Isla Puting Bato district.
Leonila Abiertas, 65, lost almost all her possessions but managed to save the funeral urn that holds her husband's ashes.
“I really don't know how I'm going to start my life again after this fire,” she told AFP in tears.
Some 36 fire trucks and four boats were deployed, while the air force sent two helicopters to help put out the flames.