Philippines mall fire: At least 37 feared dead in Davao

No less than 37 individuals are dreaded to have passed on in a fire that tore through a shopping center in the southern Philippine city of Davao, neighborhood authorities say.

Firefighters struggled for quite a long time to douse the blast that began on the third floor and spread to the floor above, catching call focus representatives.

Their odds of survival were "zero", Davao's Vice-Mayor Paolo Duterte said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, the bad habit leader's dad, gone by the scene.

President Duterte, a Davao local, met groups of the missing outside the consuming NCCC shopping center.

The reason for the fire, which started on Saturday morning, is being researched.

The shopping center's showcasing administrator, Janna Abdullah Mutalib, said the blast began on the third floor, where garments, machines and furniture were sold, the Philippines Star site reports.

Davao lies around 800km (500 miles) south-east of the capital Manila.

The fire comes as the nation is grappling with a fatal hurricane.