Short circuit blamed for Manila fire

Victims were trapped in their rooms by barred windows

Philippine fire investigators suspect a short circuit in a stockroom set off the fire which swept through a Manila hotel on Saturday morning, killing 70 people trapped inside.

There were people hanging out of the windows crying out to be rescued

Feliciano Belmonte, local mayor

Local officials said many of the victims would still be alive if basic fire regulations, such as installing fire alarms, had been followed.

The authorities are now trying to track down the hotel's owner, and the Philippines Government has launched an inquiry into a fire.

The fire, at the Manor Hotel in the Quezon City suburb of Manila, took two hours to extinguish.

The victims, believed to be Filipinos attending a conference of a Christian sect, were asphyxiated in their rooms as barred windows and sealed fire escapes made escape from the blaze virtually impossible.

It is the worst fire disaster to strike the Philippines since a blaze in a Manila discotheque claimed 160, mainly teenage, victims in 1996.

Trapped behind bars

Many of the bodies were found in bathrooms where the victims had apparently tried to douse themselves with water as the building filled up with thick smoke and temperatures soared.

Firefighters were hampered by the Manor Hotel's barred windows

One victim had even submerged his head in a toilet bowl, said a fire-fighter.

The windows of most rooms were covered with bars designed to deter thieves but which severely hindered the rescue mission.

"Without a doubt there would have been more people rescued if there had been no iron grilles on the windows," said Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte.

"There were people hanging out of the windows crying out to be rescued."

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

Locked fire escapes

Two people attempted to jump off the building but were stopped and rescued, while two others jumped and survived, including one who landed on concrete.

Fire-fighters cut through to save 18 people

Survivors said that some of the fire escapes were locked and that there was little in the way of emergency lighting.

There were 236 people staying in the hotel, of which 172 were attending the two-day "Dawn Flower Destiny Conference" for born-again Christians.

Escape

Eugene Schwebler, a 60-year-old US citizen, told the Associated Press he tried to leave through the corridor but the heat forced him back to his room.

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

Investigators are sifting through the debris

"I don't know how many came out. The lights went out and we heard people screaming," he said.

The BBC's John Maclean in Manila said the fire has sparked fresh anger about the apparent laxity of safety standards in public buildings.

The secretary for the interior ministry, Jose Line, said his office would be looking into reports that just two months ago the hotel was found to have sub-standard safety standards and was given a month to rectify the problem.

He said charges would be pressed if criminal neglect was established.