Resorts World attack victims hid in secluded areas out of fear of Jessie Carlos

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Monday said 24 of the 36 people who died from suffocation during the Resorts World attack were found on the posh hotel's second floor.

In an interview on Unang Balita, BFP spokesman Fire Chief Inspector Ian Manalo said that instead of running out of the hotel the tendency of the panicked victims were to look for hiding places.

"Because of fear, malamang nagtago sila kung saan-saan eh, sa mga secluded spaces sa second floor," Manalo said.

"Malamang kasi na ang pag-iisip ng tao na instead of safety [from the fire] ang kanilang isipin eh... Prominent na prominent kasi ngayon ang mga massacre, ang pag-iisip nila na ganoon na magtago at iyon ang nag-hinder sa kanila na tumakas sa sunog," he added.

He said that when firemen arrived, their immediate focus was to evacuate people at the hotel, which was already engulfed by smoke after Resorts World attacker Jessie Manalo set the casino area at the ground floor ablaze.

Manalo said guests at the hotel were apparently too scared to come out of their rooms.

"According sa aming mga bombero, kinakatok nila isa isa ang mga kuwarto... Hinihingan pa sila ng ID... Parang takot talaga sila na magbukas ng pinto kaya napilitan silang magtago doon at akala nila sapat na iyon," he said.

On Sunday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was wondering why people got trapped inside the hotel during the fire.

"The reaction was to go inside the rooms. Ang hotel, this is just to— one question: Bakit walang exit na marami?” he added.

Smoke evacuator system

Manalo said investigations are ongoing to determine if lapses were committed or fire guidelines were not followed by Resorts World Manila.

In a press conference on Saturday, BFP-National Capital Region chief Wilfredo Kwan Tiu said that fire sprinklers at the hotel-casino seemed to have worked based on CCTV camera recordings.

Tiu, however, said they have to conduct further investigations if sprinkler heads were tripped off by the heat from the fire caused by Resorts World attacker Jessie Carlos early Friday.

Manalo, meanwhile, said that they were also determining if the posh hotel-casino has a smoke evacuator system, one of the requirements for business establishments like the Resorts World Manila.

He said the system limits the contamination of smoke in an area to only one percent.

"Hindi puwede lumagpas iyon para makahinga pa ang mga tao. Ito ang tinitingnan naming maigi kung gumana o meron ba," Manalo said.

A total of 38 people died in the tragedy, including Carlos.

Carlos, armed with a rifle, torched gaming tables at the casino area.

He also went up to the hotel and holed himself up in one of the rooms on the fifth floor, where he torched and shot himself.

The National Capital Region Police Office's Special Investigation Task Group and the National Bureau of Investigation are investigating the possible liability of the hotel in the tragedy.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has also asked Resorts World Manila to explain the attack. —ALG, GMA News