BGC building catches fire, construction workers rescued
Photo from Chard Gonzales
MANILA, Philippines – Fire investigators are still probing the cause of fire that struck the unfinished One World Place building in the upscale Bonifacio Global City business district in Taguig City on Thursday morning.
Chief Inspector Junito Maslang, Taguig City Fire marshal, said in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net that they cordoned off the 31-storey establishment as arson investigators look into what caused the fire.
“The area has been cordoned off. Fire officers are still collecting debris. Construction work has been suspended,” Maslang said.
According to Maslang, the Megawide Construction Corporation said there were 520 construction workers inside the building when the fire broke out.
At least 14 construction workers were rescued by Bureau of Fire Protection officers and other responding units as they were trapped inside the burning building.
“They had difficulty breathing so most of them were brought to St. Luke’s Medical Center in BGC,” Maslang said.
The fire started at basement 3 at around 9:30 a.m. Smoke reached up to the 24th floor.
As of 11:30 a.m., authorities placed the fire on third alarm. At least 20 fire trucks responded to the area.
More than an hour later, firefighters completely put out the fire.
No one was reported injured in the incident.
Daiichi Properties and Development Inc. is the developer of One World Place.
Rene Chester Pangan III, vice president of the company’s legal and external affairs, said: “We are still coordinating with authorities to determine the cause of the fire. We will give you new details as soon as investigators release their official findings.”
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