A massive fire has destroyed a historic post office building in the Philippine capital, Manila, authorities said Monday. More than 80 fire trucks were dispatched to the scene of the blaze, which broke out late Sunday (May 21st), the Philippine Fire Protection Bureau said.
Thick black smoke rose hundreds of meters into the sky, while flames ravaged the central post office in Manila (North). It took firefighters more than 7 hours to bring the fire under control. "The whole building burned down, from the basement to the fifth floor," Luis Carlos, the Philippine Postmaster General, told DZBB radio. The cause of the fire is under investigation, he added.
Built in 1926, this post office was once considered the "grandest building" in Manila, according to its website. It was destroyed during World War II, when U.S. forces recaptured the capital from Japanese occupation forces, before being rebuilt in 1946.
