As many as 36 people are still missing, trapped inside, and presumed to be burned alive in a devastating fire at a Davao City, Mindanao, shopping mall on Saturday. Only one body has been recovered but workers on the scene said there was no chance anyone inside the building could have survived such a fire.
At 2:30am on Sunday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cried as he shared the news with relatives of the 37 dead and missing. The bodies of the 36 missing were still trapped inside the burned mall. Most of the missing victims worked for SSI, a 24-hour call center on the top floor, reported Thai PBS.
The fire broke out on the third-floor of the four-story NCCC mall, while most of the victims were working at the call center, there were also many workers inside a ground floor grocery store who managed to escape. The mall was not open to shoppers and store staff at the time of the pre-dawn blaze.
The cause of the fire is not yet known but an investigation is underway.
Police officer Ralph Canoy said that those working at the call center weren’t notified fast enough that the fire was spreading.
