Washington : Police has recovered 58 dead bodies while a dozen more are still missing from the fire that ravaged a rubber slipper factory in the outskirts of the Philippine capital, Manila. The search of the bodies resumed after being suspended late Wednesday because of the heat and concerns about the stability of the two-storey building, reported ABC News. Mayor Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela city, where the Kentex Manufacturing Corp. factory was engulfed in flames for several hours, said that 13 people were still missing.
The incident has raised questions over the fire and building safety standards followed by the factory. An angry relative claimed that iron grills on the windows of the second floor prevented those trapped inside from escaping, when fire broke out. Gatchalian said that the fire was apparently started by sparks from welding work being done at the factory’s main entrance door, triggering an explosion of the chemicals used to make the slippers. District Fire Marshal Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu said that the buildings had other exits but workers were overwhelmed by the thick black smoke rising from the burning rubber and chemicals, which are highly flammable, and caused the fire to spread quickly.
