09 October 2015•Update: 09 October 2015
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines
Ten people are now confirmed dead after a fire tore through a penal colony in central Philippines overnight, according to officials.
Leyte Police Inspector Catalino Landia told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday that all of those missing from the Abuyog Penal Colony had now been accounted for.
Reports had initially said that 11 of the colony’s 1,256 inmates were missing when the fire was extinguished late Thursday night.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that five of the fatalities had occurred at the prison's psychiatric ward, two others who died were "weak, old and suffering from eye problems" and two were farm workers who went inside the building to save fellow inmates and salvage farm equipment.
“Among my instructions [are to] fully secure the area, attend to the needs of the affected inmates, i.e., food, clothing, temporary shelter, other emergency needs, like flashlights, medicines, etc., and search for missing inmates, if any,” de Lima told the Daily in a text message
Bobby Olaguer, spokesman for the Bureau of Corrections, had earlier said that the fire hit the maximum security compound of the prison in the province of Leyte at 3.45 p.m. (GMT 07:45) Thursday.
The Philippines News Agency (PNA) quoted the country's fire bureau as saying faulty electrical wiring was the probable cause of the blaze that burnt down several buildings in the compound and razed the prison hospital.
Fire chief Junrey Ong told PNA that survivors were evacuated to the nearby medium security building.
The compound is one of seven penal colonies belonging to the Bureau of Corrections.
