4 dead, 14 hurt as fire razes Manila Pavilion Hotel

The authorities have identified the two casualties, but the other two remain unidentified. The four were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The injured  victims  were brought to Manila Doctors Hospital.

As of   8:00 pm Sunday, firefighters were  still containing the fire.

Johnny Yu, director of the Manila Disaster Risk and Reduction Management (MDRRMO) said two of the fatalities were hotel employees – Jun Evangelista, treasury officer, and Billy de Castro, intern security.

The fire started at about 9:30 a.m. at the second floor of the 22-story historic hotel, which opened in 1968 as the Manila Hilton. The fire reached Task Bravo at 11:30 a.m.

The Manila Police District Tactical Operations Center (MPD-TOC) said as of 10:20 a.m., two of the four reported dead were identified as Jun Evangelista, a treasury officer, and Billy De Castro, an intern security.

The MPD-TOC also reported that among the injured in the incident were identified as Edilberto Evangelista, Jennifer Figueroa and Billy de Castro.

Fire investigators believe  that some victims  died of suffocation as they were trapped inside the building.

The BFP said the Manila Pavillion Hotel fire started at 9:30 a.m. and was raised to 5th alarm by 10:09 a.m.

The fire was eventually raised to Task Force Alpha at 11:07 a.m., which means that all fire stations, including those of neighboring cities, shall respond to the alarm. –Newsline.ph with report from PNA