'Welding near flammable chemicals caused Kentex fire'

Imbestigasyon ng IATFsa nangyaring sunog sa Kentex,tapos na pic.twitter.com/Xd92ffKFg5

— Dennis Cabral Datu (@dennis_datu) May 24, 2015

MANILA -- The Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force has released the results of its investigation on the massive fire that killed 72 people in Kentex Manufacturing Corporation in Valenzuela City on May 13.

According to Fire Supt. Renato Marcial, spokesperson of the probe team, investigation showed that fire started when sparks from a welding machine set ablaze flammable chemicals inside the factory.

This was based on interviews with survivors, employees, the company's owners, and the welders working in the factory.

The key accounts came from welder Oscar Romero and factory supervisor Steve Chua.

The task force is now in the process of determining who should be held responsible in the fire, including the owners and administrators of the factory, negligent officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the local government of Valenzuela City.

The group has also yet to decide whether to file charges against the welder, or to consider him a witness. At present, Romero is considered a "person of interest."

The task force is set to submit the results of their investigation to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas before the month ends. -- report from Dennis Datu, DZMM