2 die in Zamboanga City fire

INQUIRER FILES

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — A journalist and a government worker died while five others were injured in a fire in Barangay Tetuan here on Tuesday dawn.

Police Colonel Kimberly Molitas, officer-in-charge of the Zamboanga City Police Office, identified the two fatalities as Allen Abastillas and Adolfo Vicente Jr.

Abastillas, 59, used to work with ABS-CBN as a cameraman before he became a stringer and photographer for the Daily Zamboanga Times.

“He was the man behind the camera that took the infamous column of smoke during the Ipil (Zamboanga Sibugay) pillage last April 5, 1995,” said Roland Ramos, Abastillas’ former colleague at ABS-CBN.

Vicente, 60, was a job order worker at the Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources.

Molitas said the fire was reported at 2:10 a.m. and it started at 144 D. Alfaro Drive.

Authorities initially received information that five persons sustained injuries. They are identified as Musimar Indang, 44, Fatima Rahma Indang, 8, Rohana Indang, 45, Elena Cabugza, 69, and Melchor Cabugza, 69.

“The victims sustained minor burn injuries and difficulty breathing during [the] incident and were brought to the nearest hospital for medication,” Molitas said.

The Bureau of Fire and Protection declared fire out at 6:23 a.m. Damage is estimated at P9 million.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.