Davao official says chances missing people survived are ‘zero’, after blaze trapped workers inside the four-storey building on Saturday

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Thirty-seven people were believed killed in a fire that engulfed a shopping mall in the southern Philippines city of Davao, the local vice-mayor said on Sunday.

A bureau of fire protection commander at the scene said the chances of the 37 surviving were “zero”, according to Paolo Duterte, the vice-mayor, who is also the president’s son.

The blaze started at the four-storey NCCC Mall on Saturday morning and people were trapped inside, including in a call centre on the top floor, said Ralph Canoy, a police officer in the district.

Canoy said the fire was still going before dawn on Sunday morning.

“The fire started on the third floor, which houses products like fabrics, wooden furniture and plastic ware, so the fire quickly spread and it’s taking a long time to put out,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest President Rodrigo Duterte visits site of fire at the shopping mall in Davao. Photograph: Arman Baylon-Ho/EPA

He said investigators believed some of those who were probably killed had been trapped in the call centre, which operated 24 hours a day.

“It’s possible that while they were working, they did not immediately notice the fire spreading,” Canoy said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who served as mayor of Davao for about two decades and continues to live in the city, visited the mall on Saturday night to comfort relatives of the victims who had gathered at the scene.

Davao is the biggest city in southern Philippines, and is about 600 miles south of Manila. The blaze occurred on the same day a tropical storm caused mudslides and floods that killed more than 180 people in the country.