Philippines blaze leaves 1,500 families homeless
12 April 2012
A Filipino man and his pig swim to safety after a fire which left 1,500 families homeless.
The six-hour blaze in the coastal city of Navotas, near Manila, killed a woman and her two children. Another woman drowned after jumping into the sea to escape.
Firemen said the blaze quickly spread to a plastic factory in the shanty town after a petrol container next to a stove ignited.
Most people store petrol in their homes to use in their fishing boats. Navotas is the fishing capital of the Philippines, with 70 per cent of residents working in the industry.
