Manila blaze kills 2 boys; father turns suicidal

A 30-minute fire killed two 4-year-old boys in Manila’s Sampaloc district Thursday morning and sent a grief-stricken parent on a suicidal fit.

Officials said the charred remains of Jaybrix Jacobe and Arjun Salombre were found inside the two-story house that burned down on Blumentritt Extension corner Felipe Street.

Upon learning of his son’s horrible death, Salombre’s father Ferdinand became hysterical and cut his wrist, said Senior Fire Officer 2 Immanuel Gaspar.

Salombre’s other family members and neighbors were able to pacify and stop him from taking his own life, Gaspar added.

An initial investigation showed that the two children were playing unaccompanied on the second floor of the house when the fire started there around 11:30 a.m.

The flames spread to three other homes and destroyed property worth P300,000, according to the Manila fire bureau. Tessa Distor