Four killed, some trapped as fire hits hotel in Philippine capital

MANILA: A fire broke out at a hotel in the Philippine capital on Sunday, killing four people and trapping several on the fifth floor, a rescue official said.

About 20 people were trapped in the Manila Pavilion Hotel, Johnny Yu, chief of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, told radio station dZMM.

“We have reports coming in from the Bureau of Fire Protection that they saw from the fifth floor 19 to 20 trapped victims but they are alive,” Yu said.

It was not immediately clear how the fire started.

The hotel is owned by Waterfront Philippines Inc.

On Saturday, at least 10 people died when a small plane crashed into a house north of the Philippine capital on Saturday, aviation and police officials said.

The Piper 23 Apache single-engined aircraft, operated by Lite Air Express, had just taken off from a small airport nearby, said Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

It was carrying five people, including the pilot, and was en route to Laoag in northwestern Luzon.

“All plane occupants died in the aircraft accident with collateral damage to a house with five occupants who also perished,” Apolonio said.

The plane hit the house of an 80-year-old woman, who was inside at the time, police spokesman Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao said in a text message.

“The house was burnt while the aircraft was totally wrecked,” Bulalacao said.

CAAP ordered all aircraft operated by Lite Air Express to be grounded pending the result of investigations.