Thousands Left Homeless in Manila Shanty Town Fire

Officials say a fire that swept through a sprawling squatters’ colony on Manila Bay’s rim has left two people missing and some 10,000 others homeless.

Several residents jumped into the bay, clutching small appliances, to escape Friday’s blaze in Manila’s Tondo district.

Chief Inspector Bonifacio Carta of the fire department says firemen had difficulty getting enough water to put out the fire and to call coast guard boats to spray water from the bay.

Many of the residents lived in shanties on stilts. Officials say people left homeless have been evacuated to a nearby sports complex.

Carta says at least three people have been injured and brought to hospital.