In Manila, factory fire kills at least 58 workers


At least 58 people died after a fire swept through a factory in Manila on Wednesday, and officials say about a dozen people are still missing.
The destroyed footwear factory is in the Valenzuela industrial district, and owner Veato Ang said 200 to 300 people worked there. One survivor said she heard explosions as she ran out of the building, and investigators, who are still trying to determine what caused the blaze, believe that chemicals and flammable materials helped the flames spread quickly.
It took four hours for firefighters to put the fire out, and once they entered the building they found several bodies. "They were lying side by side, but all I could see were their bones," senior superintendent Sergio Soriano said.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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