Illegal fireworks spark fatal store blaze

A fire blamed on illegally sold firecrackers swept through a department store in the central Philippines on Christmas Day, killing 24 people who tried to escape in a restroom, police said today.

The blaze spread quickly from firecrackers and pyrotechnics which ignited near the entrance to the one-storey building in Ormoc city, 550 kilometres (340 miles) south east of Manila, leaving many vendors and customers trapped inside, said Chief Superintendent Eliseo dela Paz.