BORACAY- An afternoon fire on Monday at Sitio Diniwid, Barangay Yapak here razed nine houses and burned alive a six-year old girl.

FO3 Franklin Arubang identified the victim as Maribel Garcia. Garcia was sleeping at the attic of one of the houses when the fire broke out around 12:45 p.m.

Her totally burned body was found inside a comfort room of the duplex house.

Arubang said that the child may have left out by her aunts staying at the other side of the house when they noticed that the house was on fire.

The victim’s parents were not in the area when the incident happened.

Arubang said it took them 30 minutes to totally put off the fire since the houses were made of light materials. He estimated the cost of damage at P500,000.

“We suspect that the cause of the fire came from one of the kitchens nearby the house where Garcia was killed,” he said.

They are still gathering evidences through to determine the cause of the fire.

Arubang said seven persons have already reported to Boracay Fire Station to claim ownership of the burned houses.

Diniwid Beach in Boracay is a 200-meter long stretch of white beach. It is a place where tourist flocks for snorkel and hold picnics. (Ernan Baldomero and Jun Ariolo Aguirre)