7 die in Philippine store fire

Davao - Seven store employees were killed in the
southern Philippines when a paint shop burned
down while they were sleeping inside, the
provincial police chief said on Friday.
The fatalities - three men and four women - died
when the Palomares Paint Store in the rural town
of Manay in Mindanao island caught fire late on
Thursday, said Senior Superintendent Jose
Carumba.
"The victims were stay-in storekeepers and
helpers. All of them were burned beyond
recognition when found," he said.
The bodies were found still in their beds,
indicating the fire spread quickly due to the paint
and other flammable materials in the store,
Carumba added.
Police are eyeing faulty wiring as the cause of the
fire, he added.
It is common in the Philippines for people with
low-paying jobs to "stay-in" or sleep in their
place of work.
This has led to tragedies including a fire in a
department store in the southern Philippines in
May 2012, which killed 17 employees sleeping
inside.