Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel were among the 11 individuals who died in a fire that razed a residential building in Binondo, Manila last Aug. 2.
The PCG mourned the death of Apprentice Seaman (ASN) Ian Paul Fresado and ASN Mark Hernandez, and condoled with their bereaved families.
“The two Coast Guard personnel were temporarily residing at the building as boarders,” PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said on Saturday, Aug. 3.
Balilo said that the PCG has coordinated with the families of Fresado and Hernandez to extend to them all the necessary assistance.
Fresdado and Hernandez were members of the Coast Guardsman Course Class 105. After passing the training, they were assigned to the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Command (MEPCOM).
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank exploded at an eatery located on the ground floor of the four-storey building on the corner of Nueva and Carvajal Streets in Binondo around 7 a.m. on Aug. 2.
The victims were sleeping at the time and were trapped when the fire broke out.
The bodies of Fresado and Hernandez, together with nine other victims, were brought to Batangas Sanctuary Funeral Home onAbad Santos Avenue in Tondo, Manila, for proper disposition.