Philippines hotel fire kills 75

Victims were trapped in their rooms by barred windows

At least 75 people have been killed after fire swept through a hotel in the Philippines early on Saturday morning.

Many of the victims are thought to have suffocated in their rooms after finding windows and fire escapes sealed.

Lord, Lord, I was hoping to see them alive, but they are all dead

Eleanor Schofield, survivor

The blaze was at the Manor Hotel, in the Quezon City suburb of the capital Manila.

The cause of the fire, which took three and half hours to put out, is not known, though initial reports said the hotel's air-conditioning may have overheated.

Trapped

A security guard opened fire with his pistol to try and alert sleeping guests to the danger.

One fire-fighter said victims were trapped in their rooms by metal bars at the windows.

At the height of the blaze, trapped guests could be seen crying and waving to firemen for help and shaking grilles and iron bars on their windows.

Fire-fighters cut through to save 18 people

"They look like being in jail rather than a hotel," a local TV reporter said.

Fire-fighters used metal grinders to cut through metal grilles on the windows and managed to save 18 people.

A further 79 people are still unaccounted for and fire-fighters are continuing their search of the six-storey building.

Many of the dead were Christians visiting Manila for a convention organised by a US missionary.

Eugene Schwebler, a 60-year-old US citizen, told the Associated Press that 160 people from the missionary group Missionary Evangelists Philippines-World were staying at the hotel.

"There were 160 people in our group. I don't know how many came out. The lights went out and we heard people screaming."

He said he tried to leave through the corridor but the heat forced him back to his room.

Escape

He said he then pulled the air conditioner out of the wall to give him access to the fire escape.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered an investigation into how the fire broke out.

Quezon City mayor Feliciano Belmonte said the city had previously warned the hotel of inadequate fire safety.

BBC Manila correspondent John Maclean says a recent safety inspection had revealed a number of violations of regulations at the hotel.

The blaze was the country's worst since 160 people were killed in a fire at a discotheque in 1996.