Six people died, including 5 children, after a fire hit a residential area where around 50 families were affected in Quiapo, Manila Wednesday evening.

Fire Officer 1 Raymark Ancheta of the Manila Bureau of Fire Protection said the blaze started around 10pm at a 3-storey shanty in Arlegui Street.

Ancheta added there were two persons reported injured but he did not identify the victims.

The fire reached the second alarm at 10:18pm and was put out at 11:59pm, destroying five homes and one 5-storey building, said Ancheta.

In a TV interview, the mother of the three children who died said she was at work during the incident.

In the same interview, BFP arson chief Senior Inspector Reden Alumno said they are looking at electrical short circuit as a possible cause of fire.

"One of the possibility is electrical. We saw on the alley we went that there were burned wiring. From there you can really see that it's from the back," Alumno said. Ella Dionisio/DMS