1st LD Writethru: 37 people missing in mall fire in southern Philippines confirmed dead

MANILA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Local firefighters said on Monday that they have retrieved the remaining 36 bodies of those who died in a mall fire in the southern Philippine city of Davao, bringing the death toll to 37.

Wilberto Rico Niel Kwan Tiu, regional director of Bureau of Fire Protection, said that 36 bodies were recovered on Monday inside the Davao shopping mall which was engulfed by the fire.

"I personally counted them before I gave the information to our honorable mayor. And I counted them, around 36 in number," he added.

One body was already recovered inside the mall on Sunday, according to the Davao official.

Fire razed the local shopping mall in Davao on Saturday morning. It took the firefighters more than 24 hours to extinguish the massive blaze.

Most of those trapped were employees of a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) on the fourth floor of the mall, authorities said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited relatives of the victims who were anxiously waiting for their trapped relatives across the burning mall before dawn on Sunday.

Duterte was accompanied by his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and his son Davao City Vice mayor Paolo Duterte, who announced that he already resigned on Monday partly due to the tragedy.

Local authorities were still determining the origin of the fire. Enditem