A fire that gutted a factory in the Philippines has killed dozens of people.<br /><br /> The local mayor for the area, Valenzuela City on the outskirts of the capital Manila, said on Thursday that the official figure had risen to 72.<br /><br /> Valenzuela Mayor Gatchalian: This is the biggest fire that ever hit the city in terms of casualties cnnphilippines pic.twitter.com/pT7gc5yrcU— Rex Remitio (Rexremitio) 13 Mai 2015<br /><br /> Police said the previous day’s fire started when sparks from a welding machine ignited flammable chemicals near the main entrance.<br /><br /> Workers became trapped on the upper floor of the two-storey factory, which made rubber flip-flops and slippers for a company named as Kentex Manufacturing Corp, reportedly for the local market.<br /><br /> “There was an explosion and a big fire, so we immediately rushed to the fire exit, but some of our co-workers upstairs did not know of the fire down below, so they could not get down. They were trapped. I believe there were 70 of them there,” said factory worker
