MANILA: A huge fire tore through Manila’s historic post office building overnight, slightly injuring one person and razing the nearly 100-year-old landmark in the Philippine capital, police and postal officials said Monday.
Firefighters said that the fire started before midnight in the basement of the neo-classical, large five-story post office building and was brought under control today morning more than seven hours after it started.
Officials said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire and the damage. The Manila Central Post Office building was one of the capital’s busiest buildings but closed when the fire started. The post office building was the country’s main mail-sorting and distribution hub and was the central office of the Philippine Postal Corporation.
Postal service in the Philippines began with horse-riding mail couriers during the Spanish colonial period.
The post office building, now government-recognized as a national landmark, the building was built in 1926 with tall columns in the traditional neo-classical style. It was severely destroyed during Second World War and was rebuilt in 1946.
It is located along the Pasig River and on the main intersection of the capital’s key roads.
