Firefighters continue to battle a huge fire that engulfed a house parts factory in General Trias, Cavite nearly 24 hours after it started Wednesday at around 6:19 p.m., according to BFP Cavite Provincial Office.
The inferno at House of Technology Industries sent home thousands of employees running for their safety.
Massive amounts of black smoke billowed in the night sky as red flames raged through the factory.
As of this posting, five people are reported missing and 126 others are injured. But the casualty count may go higher as the fire has not yet been put out.
Most of the injured were taken to the Divine Grace Medical Center and the rest to the General Trias Maternity Hospital.
Housing Technology Industries, which is into the in manufacturing and assembling of pre-fabricated house parts, employs around 6,000 workers.
Authorities have yet to confirm how many were working during the evening shift.
Local reports said the fire apparently started when a machine malfunctioned and triggered small explosions in a section with combustible materials as two shifts of workers of about 3,500 each were changing places.
Company officials were doing a count to find out if any more people were missing at the factory.-Mark Nituma-
