Four children on Wednesday died in the eastern Philippines when their home caught fire after the parents had gone out, locking them in, officials said.
The children, aged between 4 and 16, were sleeping on the second floor of the two-storey house in Tacloban City, 570 kilometres south-east of Manila, when the fire struck before dawn.
The city’s fire marshal, Charlie Herson, said that the blaze was believed to have started in a canteen operated by the parents on the ground floor.
“The parents left the children before daylight and locked the house to go to market.
“The father was injured when he tried to rescue the children on his return, but the fire had already engulfed the house.
“Initial investigations showed faulty electrical wiring on the canteen could have caused the fire,’’ Herson said.
