Seven Die in Philippine Store Fire

Seven store employees were killed in the southern Philippines when a paint shop burned down while they were sleeping inside, the provincial police chief said Friday.

The fatalities -- three men and four women -- died when the Palomares Paint Store in the rural town of Manay in Mindanao island caught fire late Thursday, said Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba.

"The victims were stay-in storekeepers and helpers. All of them were burned beyond recognition when found," he said.

The bodies were found still in their beds, indicating the fire spread quickly due to the paint and other flammable materials in the store, Carumba added.

Police are eyeing faulty wiring as the cause of the fire, he added.

It is common in the Philippines for people with low-paying jobs to "stay-in" or sleep in their place of work.

This has led to tragedies including a fire in a department store in the southern Philippines in May 2012, which killed 17 employees sleeping inside.