Manila, Jul 31 (IANS): A 10-year-old boy died in a fire that gutted three houses in the Philippine capital on Wednesday, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.
The bureau said the fire broke out in a residential area in Paco district in Manila City at around 10:30 a.m. (local time) and quickly spread to the neighborhood, Xinhua news agency reported.
Firefighters later found the body of the boy on the second floor.
Initial investigation showed the victim's family scampered out of the house, thinking the boy was in tow. The father tried to run back to the burning house upon realising the boy was missing, but extreme heat and smoke prevented him from entering the house.
It took firefighters a little over an hour to put out the fire. The bureau is investigating the cause of the fire.