‘Home alone’ kids killed, hurt in fire

MANILA, Philippines — Three children died while a brother, along with a neighbor, were under treatment in the hospital after a fire gutted their house in Caloocan City before Sunday dawn, the police said.

The fire started at the house of Maymay Mano at Tupda Village in Barangay 8 at 3:03 a.m. and was put out at 4:39 a.m. The cause was still under investigation.

The police identified the fatalities as Kian Nardeja, 10, and his siblings, Jilian, 8 and Marian, 7. Marian was reportedly trapped in one of the four rooms and died before she could be rescued.

Jilian died on the way to the Caloocan City Medical Center while Kian passed away as he was undergoing treatment.

Another brother, 5-year-old Rodolfo, was being treated at the same hospital for second-degree burns, along with a neighbor, Fulgencio Rodriguez, 45.

Supt. Stephen Requina, Caloocan City fire marshal, said the siblings had been left at home because their father was in jail on drug charges. Their mother, on the other hand, had been “wandering around and allegedly using illegal drugs,” according to neighbors.