Fire in Manila slum destroys over 1,000 homes

[Anchor]

A large fire broke out today in a slum area of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Over a thousand houses were burned, and due to the characteristics of slums, the houses are densely packed and made of wood, which seems to have exacerbated the damage.

This is Lee Seung-cheol reporting.

[Report]

Thick black smoke is rising endlessly.

The flames continue to spread as if to engulf the entire coastal village.

A helicopter appears in the sky.

It keeps dropping water, but the flames are so fierce that it is insufficient.

The houses that have already been swept away by the flames are left standing with only their skeletal frames.

The fire that struck the coastal slum in the Tondo area of Manila this morning started on the second floor of a house.

[Daisy Villanueva/Resident of the fire area: "I was having breakfast when I heard someone shouting 'Fire!' I went outside and saw huge smoke rising. People were terrified because of the large smoke."]

Philippine media also reported the news as breaking news.

When the fire broke out, Philippine authorities mobilized fire trucks, fire boats, as well as coast guard and air force firefighting helicopters, but they failed to extinguish it early.

Due to the characteristics of the slum, the houses are densely packed, and most are made of flammable materials like wood, which quickly escalated into a large fire.

Philippine media reported that around 4 PM, more than 8 hours after the fire started, it was declared fully extinguished.

Philippine fire authorities have counted that over a thousand houses were burned in this fire.

So far, there have been no reports of casualties, but it is known that the large area of damage has made it difficult to assess the situation on the ground.

This is KBS News, Lee Seung-cheol.