1,000 homes destroyed after fire rips through Manila slum

Thousands have been left homeless after a fire ripped through homes on Sunday.

Thousands have been left homeless after a fire ripped through a densely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.

The blaze, which broke out at 8am Sunday in Isla Puting Bato, in Tondo, Manila, destroyed 1,000 houses and left 8,000 people displaced, the Manila Fire District said.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, which took eight hours to put out. However, it is thought to have started on the second floor of one of the homes.

A man watches houses on fire at Tondo in Manila on November 24, 2024. Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky, as fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

A man carries a dog during a fire away from the flames as homes in Tondo burn. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Drone footage shared online by the city’s disaster agency showed houses in the village razed to the ground.

The structures housed around 2,000 families, according to the fire department.

Village resident Leonila Abiertas, 65, lost almost all her possessions, but managed to save her late husband’s ashes.

“I only got the urn with the ashes of my husband,” Ms Abiertas told AFP.

“I really don’t know how I can start my life again after this fire.”

A Philippine Air Force helicopter drops water over burning houses. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

Residents carry their belongings and thousands of homes burned. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

Fire and disaster services deployed 36 trucks and four fire boats while the country’s airforce sent in two helicopters to help extinguish the flames.

“That area is fire-prone since most of the houses there are made of light materials,” firefighter Geanelli Nunez told AFP.

Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah ‘Honey’ Lacuna-Pangan told residents not to lose hope and evacuate to temporary shelter.

“Please be patient. We will keep coming to deliver help. No one wanted this to happen,” Lacuna-Pangan told residents, as per CNN.

“We will help all of you. Don’t lose hope. Let’s help each other out ahead of Christmas time, we really hope to get you back to your homes.”