PNP sends more SOCO operatives to Valenzuela City fire scene

JUST IN: BFP-NCR: 72 na ang narekober na bangkay #valenzuelafire pic.twitter.com/8KGngpSIv3

— Dennis Cabral Datu (@dennis_datu) May 14, 2015

MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed additional scene-of-the-crime-operatives (SOCO) to help in the retrieval operations at the fire-gutted slippers factory in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City which claimed the lives of at least 65 workers Wednesday.

This was disclosed on Thursday by PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo A. Espina who said that the additional SOCO examiners will assist the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in retrieving the bodies of the victims in the tragic fire.

Espina said the SOCO teams from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and PNP National Headquarters will also assist in the identification of bodies and processing of the crime scene in coordination with the BFP.

At present, there are 40 PNP SOCO personnel in the area.

The Valenzuela City Police Station has also deployed more police personnel to prevent looting and preserve evidence at the fire scene.

Espina said the NCRPO has taken proactive moves in coordination with the city government of Valenzuela to prevent the incident from escalating into a crisis situation as a result of the mass casualties and indirect effects on affected families and residents.