Two dead, 24 injured in Philippines fireworks blaze
Two people have died and two dozen others injured in a fire at a strip of fireworks shops in the Philippines.
The fire set off a series of explosions on Wednesday in Bocaue, a town about 30 kilometers north of the capital Manila.
A truck and three other vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
"I was hurled to the back of the shop by the force of the explosion," said 50-year-old shopkeeper, Mel Berbosa de Castro, whose lip was still bleeding and her back hurting from the blast, adding, "I saw a bloodied old man running away looking for his grandchild. Others were just running for their lives."
"It was like a war zone. I saw shards of glass, nails flying up in the air. Firecrackers were flying all over," said driver Ricky Salvador, who had helped take a victim with a bloodied face to hospital.
Bocaue's fire marshal, Senior Inspector Renan Batchine, put the updated toll at two dead, including a woman burnt beyond recognition and the body of a man unearthed from beneath the debris hours later.
Ignoring safety regulations often lead to huge and sometimes deadly fires breaking out at slums, markets and factories in the Philippines.
In May 2015, 72 people were killed in a huge blaze at a footwear factory in the northern suburbs of Manila.
In 1996, 162 people were killed at a Manila club.
Iran, Azerbaijan top brass underline military, defense cooperation
New Zealand: Maori MPs protest in parliament with Haka war dance
Malaysia working on resolution to expel Israel from United Nations
PM Sudani slams Israeli letter to UNSC as ‘pretext to justify aggression against Iraq’
‘Complicit in genocide’: Canada protesters stage sit-in at factory selling weapons to Israel
Israel abducts patients, doctors from Gaza hospital as war on health sector condemned
Iran warns against anti-Tehran resolution after commitments verified by IAEA
Hamas: ‘Sanctions reveal US support for Israel, its crimes’
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
US senators call to block arms sales to Israel over genocide in Gaza
Iran summons British envoy over shipping sanctions
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
