Manila housing fire kills eight people

Six children were among the victims

Eight people, including six children, died when fire ripped through a poor community in the Philippine capital of Manila on Monday.

The inferno destroyed 80 houses.

Three others were injured in the blaze, which started at about 5am local time on the second floor of a house in a crowded settlement inside the sprawling campus of the University of the Philippines.

• 

  Relatives grieve the loss of loved ones after a fire broke out at an informal settlement inside the campus of the University of the Philippines. All photos: AFP

• 

  Eight people died, including six children, when the fire ripped through the community in Metro Manila.

• 

  Funeral workers carry victims' bodies.

• 

  A funeral worker carries a body bag.

• 

  Firefighters work at the scene.

It took nearly two hours to extinguish the fire, AFP reported, citing a senior fire officer.

An investigation into the cause was under way.

The victims were trapped inside their homes as the fire spread quickly.

Their ages are not yet known, but six were minors.

More than 13 million people live in the densely populated capital, with tens of thousands in overcrowded slums where fires are common.

Many of the residents have fled rural poverty to live in Manila, where there are more jobs.