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(UPDATE 2) 16 killed, 1 missing in Bacolod fire on All Souls' Day

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ABS-CBN News Bacolod | 11/02/2009 8:43 AM

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BACOLOD - Sixteen people were killed and one person is still missing after a pre-dawn fire gutted a boarding house and neighboring houses in Barangay 19 in this city early Monday.

Residents said the fire started past 1 a.m. at the 2-storey boarding house owned by a certain Morita Dimakakibo and quickly spread to other houses.

Senior Inspector Pamela Rojane Candido, Bacolod City fire chief, said authorities dug up 14 bodies from the site before 7 a.m. Two more bodies were later recovered during retrieval operations.

"The house was made of light materials. It seems that the house was congested, did not have a permit [to operate] and did not have the necessary safety precautions in case of fire," she said in an ABS-CBN interview.

Candido said most of the fatalities were boarders who had just returned after observing All Saints’ Day. She said the victims who were on the second floor failed to get out of the house after the fire gutted the stairs.

A medico-legal officer has been tasked to identify the corpses after most of the cadavers were burned beyond recognition.

Candido said an unattended, lighted candle caused the fire, which destroyed a total of 60 houses and partially damaged three other houses.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella said 60 families who lost their homes in the fire are now staying at a local gymnasium and at the Apolinario Mabini Elementary School.

President Arroyo, meanwhile, expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) earlier reported that there were 17 casualties from the fire.

However, the Bureau of Fire Protection has recovered 16 bodies. Anavic Celiz was reported by relatives to be among the victims, but her body is not yet found as of posting time.

Victims

Many of the victims were roused from their sleep by the fire. Because of the haste of their evacuation, they were only able to save a few of their belongings.

"Nasusunog na kasi. Nataranta na ang lahat. sumisigaw pa ang mga tao," Tikboy Villanueva, speaking in Ilonggo, said.

Dioniso Niño watched in horror as his house - with his wife, 2 children, and grandchild inside - burned down.

"Nakita ko ang apoy sa bintana namin na masyado nang malaki. Sabi ko sa kanila, tumalon na lang sila at sasaluhin ko sila sa baba. Pero hindi sila tumalon sa bintana. Wala na akong magagawa," Niño, another victim, said.

His daughter, Jocelyn, was inconsolable. She said she hoped it was her that died during the fire.

"Bakit sila pa? Hindi ako papayag na magkaganito... sila lang ang matatakbuhan ko kung may problema ako. Bakit sila pa ang kinuha?," she said after identifying the remains of their family.

The entire Celiz family, meanwhile, perished in the fire, according to neighbors.

The local government will have psychologists who will help the families of the victims recover from the trauma of the event. With reports from Yasmin Pascual-Dormido and Ragie Mae Arellano, ABS-CBN News Negros/Regional Network Group