Christmas fires kill 7 in Philippines, crowd lynches suspected culprit

At least eight people were left dead and thousands homeless after two separate fires near the Philippines capital Manila on Christmas Day.

Most of the victims were caught in the fire block, which went ablaze at Tuesday dawn in Quezon City, a suburb north of the city. Members of a single household died as the flame spread across a row of old apartments.The fire was likely triggered by an electric malfunction caused by overload from the increased use during Christmas Eve parties, firefighting authorities said.

Hours earlier suspected arsonists set off another fire in a sprawling shantytown in suburban San Juan city across Manila.A riot started as residents of the slums, estimated to number 8,000 people, lost their homes. A man they suspected of being behind the blaze was beaten to death by a lynch mob.Two firefighters sustained injuries, when the mop started grabbing hoses from them in an attempt to put out the fire on their own. The fire brigade had to flee out of concern for their safety.