Hundreds of charred houses: fire ravages a slum in the Philippines

A fire burned hundreds of homes in a slum in Manila, Philippines.

Flames and thick black smoke rose into the sky on Sunday over Manila, the capital of the Philippines, where fire devastated hundreds of homes in a slum, the fire department of the Philippine capital said.

The Philippine capital’s fire and rescue service said about 1,000 homes were affected by the fire, which is believed to have started on the second floor of one of the houses. No casualties have been reported at this time.

Drone footage posted online by the city’s disaster response agency showed homes ravaged by flames.

According to firefighters, some 2,000 families lived in this slum, located in the Isla Puting Bato district. Some 36 fire engines and four boats were deployed, while the air force sent two helicopters to help put out the flames.

The fire appears to have been extinguished. The damage is considerable, as shown by these images of the debris of homes black with soot and still smoking.

Philippines slum fire