Dozens dead after gunman torches Philippine casino

A masked gunman set fire to a gaming room at a casino in the Philippine capital Manila on Friday, igniting a toxic blaze that killed 37 people, authorities said.

The Islamic State group said its “fighters” carried out the attack, although Manila has repeatedly insisted the incident was not terror related.

The dead suffocated inside one of the main gambling venues of the upscale Resorts World Manila, while dozens of other people were injured in a panicked crush to escape, police said.

The gunman committed suicide inside a hotel room by burning himself about five hours after storming the casino with an M4 assault rifle and a bottle of petrol that he used to start the fire, police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa and other police chiefs insisted the assailant was not carrying out a terrorist attack, pointing out he did not shoot anyone, and said it appeared to be a bizarre robbery attempt by a “deranged” man.

“This is not an act of terror. There is no element of violence, threat or intimidation that leads to terrorism,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

However, 37 people died from inhaling smoke from a fire that spread quickly because of flammable carpet on the gaming room floors, said local police chief Tomas Apolinario.

Four of the victims were from China’s Taiwan, according to local authorities.

The gunman initially disappeared into the chaos of smoke and running people, leading to a five-hour manhunt through the complex, which also includes a hotel and shops, according to Dela Rosa.

He said the assailant, who appeared to be a foreigner because he spoke English and looked Caucasian, was found just before dawn in a hotel room having committed suicide.

“He lay down on the bed, covered himself with a thick blanket, apparently poured petrol on the blanket and burned himself,” Dela Rosa said.

Filipino officials were adamant it was not related to terrorism, and was the work of an individual.