NCCC mall fire: Bodies of 36 call center agents found

By: Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao, Dec 25, 2017

Authorities on Monday confirmed they have found the bodies of 36 remaining workers trapped inside the burned NCCC Mall here.

Mayor Sara Duterte said the bodies of the victims have been recovered and were being processed by police forensics for proper identification.

Senior Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu, director of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Southern Mindanao, provided additional details during a Mass held near the ill-fated mall on Monday.

Most of the relatives sobbed and wept as Kwan Tiu relayed the sad news.

He said they did what they could to save the trapped workers of the American firm, Research Now SSI.

“We drilled holes on the walls, used ladders to reach the upper floors but the toxic, thick smoke and extreme heat of up to 700 degrees Celsius turned the responders back and prevented us from immediately reaching the inner portions of the building,” Kwan Tiu said.

He said the firefighters’ protective equipment could not withstand the searing heat. They had to conduct fire suppression first before they could get inside further.

The regional fire chief said at least 33 firetrucks from various fire stations and volunteer fire brigades throughout Davao region responded to the general alarm, and the closest firefighters arrived on the scene in minutes.