MANILA, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Five children, all cousins, died in a fire that broke out on the second floor of a three-story residential building in the Philippine capital, the Bureau of Fire Protection said Tuesday.

Firefighter Alejandro Ramos told reporters that the victims, aged between 8 and 13, were playing on the third floor when the fire broke out on Monday night in the Tondo district in Manila City.

Ramos said the blaze started on the second floor, trapping the children on the third floor. The victim's bodies were found on the third-floor terrace, Ramos added.

Ramos said there were three families living in the house.

The children's grandparents said some of the victims were visiting to spend the New Year with them and their relatives. The grandparents said they could not save the children because of the fast-spreading fire engulfing the house.

Firefighters put out the fire less than an hour later. Enditem

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