More than 300 guests were evacuated, some by helicopter and, At least three people were killed and 23 injured by a fire in a casino hotel in the Philippine capital Manila.
The Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino, operated by the country’s regulator-cum-operator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) is located in the heart of Manila’s tourist district. READ SO: PHILIPPINE REGULATOR BODY WILL NOT CONTINUE BEING AN OPERATOR
Among the dead were two hotel security guards and a treasury officer. They had likely suffocated while another 23 people had been taken to hospital.
“it was still unclear if the fire at the Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino started in the casino on the lower floors or in an area of the hotel that was under renovation. The sprinklers at the casino hotel did not work, quoting reports from firefighters deployed “said Johnny Yu, the head of the Manila Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office.
According to local media, the fire at the Manila property was still raging nine hours after it began on Sunday morning. Authorities blocked off the areas around the property, to allow firetrucks to approach and help fight the blaze.
This is the second fire to hit a casino property in Manila in less than 10 months. In June last year, an armed attacker set a fire at the Resorts World Manila casino hotel complex, claiming the lives of 37 people.
