3 children killed, 2 injured in central Philippine house fire

MANILA: Three children, aged one, four, and five, were killed, and two others were injured when a fire erupted Wednesday night at their house in Iloilo province in the central Philippines, a firefighter said Thursday.

The firefighter said the children’s parents left their five kids at home to attend a wake, before the fire razed their house in Maasin town around 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

The injured children, aged 8 and 12, suffered multiple burns and were in a local hospital for treatment.

Firefighters blamed the fire on a nearby bonfire to drive away mosquitos, a common practice in Philippine rural villages.

The fire spread quickly and burned down the house made of “light” or combustible materials.

-Xinhua