Hanoi(VNA) – As many as 37 people were believed to be killed in a fire that brokeout at a shopping mall in the southern Philippine city of Davao on December 23.
A Bureau of FireProtection commander at the scene said the chance of the 37 surviving were"zero", Paolo Duterte, the vice mayor, wrote in a Facebook post.
The blaze started atthe four-storey NCCC Mall on December 23 morning and spread to other places.Many people were trapped inside, including in a call centre on the top floor,said a local police.
The fire was notcontrolled until early December 24.
President RodrigoDuterte, who served as mayor of Davao for about two
decades, visited themall on December 23 night to comfort relatives of the victims.
Davao is the biggestcity in the southern Philippines. It is about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles)south of Manila.-VNA