5 die in Tondo fire

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MANILA – Five persons died in a fire that gutted a two-story building in Del Pan, Tondo, Manila shortly before dawn Tuesday.

Supt. Jaime Ramirez, fire marshal of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Manila, said the blaze started at around 3:58 a.

m. at the second floor of the building with a grocery store owned by Wilson Villanueva.

Ramirez identified the fatalities as Joana Razet dela Cruz, 21, Jamaica dela Cruz, 17, both grandchildren of Villanueva; a certain Shane, 21, and friend of Joana, and two store employees identified only as Jun-Jun and Tin-tin.

The BFP official said the full names of Shane, Jun-Jun and Tin-Tin were not immediately known.

Ramirez said the fire that reached third alarm was declared fired out at around 5 a.m. The estimated worth of damage was P2 million.

According to Albert Andrade, another employee of the grocery store who jumped from the second floor with Marvin Frado and Ronald Bulevar to save their lives, the two grandchildren of the house owner, together with Shane, were sleeping at the second floor while the other two employees were at the first floor.

Andrade said Villanueva is currently in a visit to his province Aklan.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.