Fire in Manila mall still raging early Wednesday

In this photo taken by Radyo Inquirer 990 AM reporter Ruel Perez at the back of Tutuban Mall in Divisoria, Manila, the fire fighters are prevented by thick smoke to go inside and put out the fire that that started past Wednesday midnight.

MANILA, Philippines—The fire that broke out inside Tutuban Mall in Divisoria, Manila past midnight is still raging as of posting time Wednesday, the Manila Fire Bureau said.

Fire Officer 2 Romel Lorenzo said the alarm level in the fire that hit Tutuban Mall’s Cluster 1 building has been raised to Task Force Charlie at 5:35 a.m.

Manila fire bureau has deployed 16 fire trucks to put out the blaze, but around 30 trucks are already in the area, including that from fire volunteers.

“Labas pasok kasi mga bumbero natin kasi low pressure na mga hydrant sa loob at dahil sa kapal ng usok (The firefighters are coming in and out of the mall because there’s already low pressure from the hydrant and there’s thick smoke inside),” he said, referring to why firefighters are having a hard time putting out the fire.

Clothes and other fabric materials being sold there are just among the items that were destroyed.

Investigation said the fire started at 12:41 a.m., but its cause and origin are yet to be determined.