NEWSBRIEFS

CLARK FREEPORT

Clark-Doha flights stay

Qatar Airways will continue serving the Clark-Doha route from Clark International Airport (CRK) here because the number of its passengers has increased since October 2013, Abdallah Okasha, Qatar Airways country manager, said during the Clark Aviation Conference here on Friday.

The airline runs daily flights to and from CRK using an Airbus 330 that seats 305 passengers. “We are proud to highlight that Qatar Airways’ commitment to the Philippines will continue,” Okasha told participants at the conference. The airline also operates at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.

Okasha did not cite the total number of passengers that Qatar Airways has served since it began flights here in October 2013. However, he said passengers had increased by between 50 and 90 percent during the last six months. Many of the airline’s passengers are overseas Filipino workers from northern and central Luzon provinces. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

QUEZON

Fire kills 4 siblings

Four young siblings were killed in a fire on Friday evening in Barangay Bulakin I, Dolores town, police said on Saturday.

Dolores police chief Senior Insp. Madonna Abang identified the fatalities as Ella Prudencio Medrano, 8; John Mark Prudenciano Medrano, 6; Mark Leo Prudencio Rebenito, 4, and Jasmine Prudencio Rebenito, 1. Abang said the children were left in the care of their eldest sister, Juana Rebenito, 13, when the fire engulfed their house, which was made of light material, on Friday night.

The children’s mother, Josephine Prudencio, and her still unnamed spouse are market vendors in San Pablo City who left their house on Friday morning, said Abang. She said investigators found out that the fire was caused by a lighted candle that was left unattended by the children when they fell asleep. The electric power of the ill-fated house was cut off on Friday morning due to unpaid bills.

Abang said the eldest among the children was roused from sleep by the fire and ran outside and shouted for help, but the blaze spread fast and trapped the four smaller children. She said the victims’ parents arrived while their house was on fire but it was too late to save the children. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon

ZAMBOANGA CITY

Girl dies in fire

A three-year-old girl was killed in a fire that destroyed at least 50 houses in Barangay Kasalamatan here on Wednesday afternoon.

Fire investigators said the mother of Fatima Sampang, Nurhaina, was outside their house when the fire broke out around 3 p.m. Nurhaina tried to save her daughter but the flames quickly engulfed their house. Nurhaina suffered third degree burns on her right arm.

The fire quickly spread to other houses. Fire investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the conflagration. Liza Jocson, Inquirer Mindanao