7 killed as fire hits Olongapo City hotel

The body of an unidentified Filipina is removed from the rubble at the Dryden Hotel in Barrio Barretto, Olongapo City, January 11, 2013. JEFFREY BEER/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Seven people, four of them foreigners, were killed when fire broke out in a hotel in Olongapo City before dawn Friday, police said.

Superintendent Benjamin Elenzano, Olongapo City police spokesman, said the fatalities were three Americans identified as James Brigatti Patrick Burth, and Joshue Daluso; a South Korean identified as Kyung ook Kim; and three Filipinas, one identified as Rebecca Perez.

The names of the two other Filipino women killed in the fire at the Dryden Hotel, Bar and Restaurant were not immediately available.

Elenzano said the fire at the hotel on No. 138 National Highway in Barangay (village) Barreto in Olongapo City started around 3:30 a.m.

Radio reports said the fire, which started at the building’s third level, was completely put out around 6 a.m.

Elenzano said the victims may have been trapped in one of the rooms.

Arson investigators have also yet to determine the cause of fire, according to the police. With an update from Jeffrey Beer