... http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1497000/1497400.stm
They were attending a three-day convention. There's no details of which religion yet, could they have been JWs?
philo
70 'Evangelists' Killed in Phillipines
by philo 5 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
COMF
It must have slipped by while you were speed-reading, Philo.
Eugene Schwebler, a 60-year-old US citizen, told the Associated Press that 160 people from the missionary group Missionary Evangelists Philippines-World were staying at the hotel for a convention.
-
ofcmad
Can it be?????
Do you mean to say that there are Christians getting killed and prosecuted outside of the JW Organization?
Are you telling me that there are people who preach the gospel of Christ and they are NOT JW's?ofcmad
(dripping with sarcasm) -
philo
I did read that, but I also heard the BBC TV report, which seemed inconclusive, especially when the reporter was being pressed for the name of the religion. So I took this as a description rather than a title.
philo
-
Pubsinger
Ofcmad, amazingly not only are non-JWs being persecuted but hundreds of thousands are meeting together at conventions and assemblies!
Wow!
-
Kent
Philippines Hotel Fire Kills 68
QUEZON CITY, Philippines (AP) - Fire swept through a six-story hotel in a Manila suburb before dawn Saturday, killing at least 68 people, firefighters said.Many of the dead were packed into hotel bathrooms after apparently trying to escape the flames and smoke at the Manor Hotel in Quezon City, they said.
The fire broke out at about 4:15 a.m. and was extinguished 3 1/2 hours later.
Firefighter Nivart Ulayo said when he arrived screaming men, women and children were trapped in their rooms by metal bars on the windows - a common anti-burglar feature in Manila.
Firefighters said they recovered 56 bodies in an initial foray into the hotel, then another 12 and were still searching more rooms.
The bodies were placed outside the building. Many of them, apparently those of Filipinos, showed no signs of injury from flames. Firefighters said they appeared to have died from suffocation.
Eugene Schwebler, a 60-year-old hotel guest from Wisconsin who escaped the blaze, said a contingent from the missionary group Missionary Evangelists Philippines-World were staying at the hotel for a convention.
"There were 160 people in our group," he said.
"I don't know how many came out. The lights went out and we heard people screaming."Schwebler said he tried to leave through the corridor but the heat turned him back to his room. He said he then pulled the air conditioner out of the wall to give him access to the fire escape.
Schwebler said he thought the fire started in a restaurant on the third floor.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said the first two floors of the hotel were used as offices. But he said firefighters were unable to immediately search one floor of hotel rooms for bodies because the fire badly weakened the structure.
Belmonte said the city had previously warned the hotel of inadequate fire safety.
An unidentified woman interviewed by DZMM radio said she was trapped in her third-floor room by metal bars on the window but firefighters using a ladder cut the bars from outside to extract her.
The fire was the deadliest in the Philippines since the Ozone Disco Pub inferno of March 19, 1996, which killed 162 people in a night club packed with more than 350 people, which had no fire exits.
---------------
Philippines Hotel Fire Kills 68
By OLIVER TEVES / Associated Press WriterQUEZON CITY, Philippines (AP) -- Fire swept through a six-story budget hotel before dawn Saturday, killing at least 68 people, many trapped in their rooms by anti-burglar bars, firefighters said. Some victims had been attending a Christian convention.
A large number of the dead were packed into bathrooms after apparently trying to escape the flames and smoke at the Manor Hotel in Quezon City, they said. Scores more were injured.
Most of the victims apparently belonged to an international religious group with U.S. links, but it was not immediately clear if any foreigners were among the casualties.
Officials said it was the country' s deadliest hotelfire ever and the worst in the Philippines since a fire at the Manila Ozone discotheque left 160 dead in 1996.
Firefighters said they recovered 68 bodies, but were still searching rooms for more victims. It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were on the first two floors of the building, which were used as offices.
Many of the building' s fire exits were blocked or locked and the hallways and rooms apparently were not equipped with fire alarms or emergency lights, said Danilo Cabrera, of the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Firefighter Nivart Ulayo said he arrived shortly after the fire broke out at 4:15 a.m. to find screaming men, women and children. The blaze was extinguished by 7:30 a.m.
Eighteen people were rescued by firefighters who sawed through the bars, officials said. Two people attempted to jump off from the building but were pulled to safety.
The bodies were placed outside the building. Many of them, apparently those of Filipinos, showed no signs of injury from flames. Firefighters said they appeared to have died from suffocation.
Pastor Resty Cruz, of the Philippines, said 172 members of the Don Clowers Ministry checked in at the hotel, attending a conference in Manila. An internet Web site said the group was based in Coppell, Texas.
He said he had only accounted for 80 of them, several injured, as of two hours after the fire was extinguished.
Eugene Schwebler, a 60-year-old ministry member from Wisconsin who escaped the blaze, said he first tried to leave through a corridor but the heat turned him back. He succeeded by pulling the air conditioner out of the wall to reach a fire escape.
" I don' t know how many came out. The lights went out and we heard people screaming, " said Schwebler, who' s hometown wasn' t immediately available.
He said he thought the fire started in a restaurant on the third floor.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said the first two floors of the hotel were used as offices. But he said firefighters were unable to immediately search one floor of hotel rooms for bodies because the fire badly weakened the structure.
Belmonte said the city had previously warned the hotel of inadequate fire safety.
An unidentified woman interviewed by DZMM radio said she was trapped in her third-floor room by metal bars on the window but firefighters using a ladder cut the bars from outside to extract her.
Interior Secretary Joel Lina said authorities were investigating for fire code violations. The Quezon City fire marshall was relieved of duties immediately.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/230/nation/Philippine_hotel_fire_kills_dozens+.shtml
Hotel Fire in Manila Suburb Kills 70
By OLIVER TEVES / Associated Press WriterQUEZON CITY, Philippines (AP) -- A hotel in a Manila suburb went up in flames Saturday, killing at least 70 people and injuring 54 others, including some who were taking part in a religious conference sponsored by a U.S.-based evangelical group.
Officials said security bars on the windows and inadequate fire escape routes may have contributed to the deaths at the Manor Hotel, where almost all of the victims died of smoke inhalation and suffocation. All the casualties were believed to be Filipino.
Firefighters found victims piled up in bathrooms, where they apparently had tried to escape the smoke from the pre-dawn blaze. Many were still in their bedclothes.
" Without a doubt there would have been more people rescued if there had been no iron grills on the windows, " Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said. " There were people hanging out on the windows crying out to be rescued."
Two people survived by jumping from the six-story building, including one who landed on a concrete canopy.
Bureau of Fire Protection officials said it was the deadliest hotelfire ever in the Philippines, and the worst such disaster since a 1996 discotheque blaze killed 160 people.
The hotel had 236 registered guests at the time of the fire, police said. Of those, 172 were there to take part in a Christian crusade sponsored by the Irving, Texas-based Don Clowers Ministries. Several Americans came for the " Destiny Conference, " but no foreigners were believed to be among the casualties.
Police lined up 66 bodies in four rows at a nearby basketball court, covered them with straw mats, took fingerprints and put them in body bags after they were identified. Some were wearing conference badges.
Eleanor Schofield, of the Philippines, shrieked when she saw the bodies of her boyfriend and 17-year-old daughter after earlier finding her 7-year-old son dead at a hospital. They had been staying at the hotel while she was out of town; she rushed back after hearing of the fire.
" Lord, Lord, they did not leave anyone for me, " she cried. " I was hoping to see them alive, but they are all dead."
Eugene Schwebler, 60, a Clowers follower from Wisconsin, said he tried to flee his fourth-floor room but heat turned him back. To access the fire escape, he had to pull an air conditioner out of the wall.
" I don' t know how many came out, " he said. " The lights went out and we heard people screaming."
Schwebler said he thought the fire started in a restaurant on the third floor, which appeared to have sustained the worst damage. A security guard in an adjacent building said he saw smoke coming from an exhaust fan shortly before 4 a.m.
The concrete structure was apparently built in the late 1970s and may have been damaged by fire before, local officials said. It was apparently not originally designed as a hotel -- there were no windows on the rear -- and had some permanent occupants.
Many fire exits were blocked, locked, or led to dead ends, and there appeared to be no fire alarms or emergency lights, said Danilo Cabrera, of the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The ornate white iron bars that covered many of the windows are a common security device in Manila. Firefighters were able to save 18 people by sawing through the bars.
Belmonte said the city had warned the hotel about its inadequate fire safety. Interior Secretary Joel Lina said authorities were investigating for fire code violations. The Quezon City fire marshal was relieved of his duties immediately.
At the religious conference Saturday, about 8, 000 people waved their arms in the air, singing and praying for victims and their families. Though the Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic, evangelical ministries are often popular among the rural poor.
Clowers, who was in Manila with his wife and son, asked for donations for the victims and said he would cover some expenses related to the fire, but he did not give details.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited survivors in one hospital, then tried to console relatives of victims.
" She told me that I can be assured of assistance from the government, but she did not specify what help, " said Purita Legazpi, whose cousin died in the fire.
On the Net:
Don Clowers Ministries, http://www.donclowers.com/
Yakki Da
Kent
"The only difference between a fool and the JW legal department is that a fool might be sympathetic ."
Daily News On The Watchtower and the Jehovah's Witnesses:
http://watchtower.observer.org