MANILA, Philippines -- Twenty-four victims of an orphanage fire, including 19 unidentified children, were buried Tuesday in rows of concrete tombs at Manila's public cemetery.
Hundreds of people watched, some weeping, as the small coffins were carried to the burial site. A Christmas package with a toy inside was placed atop each coffin before the simple tombs were sealed.Only eight of those killed in the fire Thursday were identified because of their severe burns. The private facility in a Manila slum housed orphans as well as children of unwed mothers and working parents.
Some relatives resisted Tuesday's burial, hoping the badly charred bodies could be identified.
"They have to be laid to rest," said Marisa Balasabas, whose year-old son has not been unidentified. "With a heavy heart, I have to accept what happened."
She said the children's names will be listed on a common marker next to the tombs.
"Seeing the proper name on each tomb would have made it easier for us to pray," she said with regret.
The bodies of other victims have been taken to their home provinces by relatives.
Hours before the burial, hundreds of people, including survivors of a disco fire in 1995 that killed 162 people, lit candles in front of the ruins of the orphanage and called for tighter fire inspections and punishment of those responsible.