At least two people were confirmed dead and 24 others were wounded when fire went ablaze a group of fireworks shop and set off explosions in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Senior Inspector Renan Batchine, the town's fire marshal, said the fatalities included a woman burned beyond recognition and a man they found dead hours later underneath the debris.
"I was hurled to the back of the shop by the force of the explosion," said Mel Berbosa de Castro, 50, her lip still bleeding and her back hurting from the blast.
"I saw a bloodied old man running away looking for his grandchild. Others were just running for their lives."
Ricky Salvador, 47, said he helped take a victim with a bloodied face to the hospital. "It was like a war zone. I saw shards of glass, nails flying up in the air. Firecrackers were flying all over," he said.
Bocaue Mayor Joni Villanueva said the fire broke out at around 11:30 a.m. at a stall, triggering a chain reaction of explosions in adjacent stalls.
Footages showed charred cars and a truck that has been overturned by the blast of the explosions, debris were seen across the road.
Villanueva said 20 firetrucks and four ambulances had responded to the incident.
Firefighters declared fire out a little past 1 p.m.
Source / Image: InterAksyon
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