Arson indicated in RP hotel fire

Arson indicated in RP hotel fire

COTABATO, Philippines (AFP): Police said yesterday they had
uncovered evidence pointing to "arson or sabotage" as the cause
of a hotel fire which killed 24 people in this southern city last
weekend.

A fierce predawn blaze gutted the upper three floors of the
Imperial Hotel on Saturday, killing 24 people including six
members of the former separatist guerrilla group, the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF). Fifteen others were injured.

The MILF, a Moslem guerrilla group holding peace talks with
the government, denied any involvement in the fire yesterday.

Police said fire investigators found a petroleum canister in
room number 305 of the six-story building, designated by
management as the Islamic prayer room, and another in room 319.

The two-hour blaze struck a day before the scheduled arrival
here of Moslem autonomous region governor Nur Misuari, the leader
of the MNLF which signed a peace treaty with the government last
year, ending a 24-year separatist guerrilla campaign.