Control: The blaze began around 3pm local time
Billowing: Acrid smoke covers the residential area of Manila
Destruction: A fireman attempts to battle the blaze as more than 200 fire trucks raced to the scene
A huge fire sweeping through a shantytown outside the Philippine capital has left around 7,000 people homeless and destroyed at least 300 houses.
Firefighters in Manila were tackling the intense fires which razed homes to the ground in Quezon city on Sunday afternoon.
Fuelled by strong winds and scorching temperatures, the fire spread rapidly throughout the slums, fire chiefs said.
At least two people were injured.
Helping hand: A mother escapes with her child and just a few possessions in her rucksack
Homeless: Residents try to salvage their belongings as firefighters contain fire sweeping through hundreds of houses in a slum area in Quezon City
Destruction: Fire tore through the shantytown of Quezon city in Manila in the Philippines, leaving 7,000 homeless and several more injured
Metropolitan Manila Fire Marshal Pablito Cordeta said this evening that around 200 firetrucks were still battling the fire.
The fire, which began around 3pm local time, was still burning at nightfall.
Liquid petroleum, sold in several stores in the shantytown, had further fuelled the flames.
Firefighters struggled to penetrate alleys, which were clogged by people trying to save their belongings and douse the flames themselves.
Residents wept as they watched their burning houses.
One homeowner, Glen Sardon, said: 'We failed to save anything except our clothes.'
Mr Cordeta said at least two residents were reported missing.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said the De Los Santos College is being used as a temporary evacuation center for the affected residents.
Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the blaze.
Slum areas in the Philippine capital are vulnerable to fires because the houses, often made from salvaged wood, are built close together, sometimes even piled on top of one another.
Thousands of families in the Philippines have been left homeless after a fire swept through a shantytown outside the capital Manila.
Local officials say at least 600 houses were destroyed by the fire in Quezon city, which began on Sunday afternoon.
No fatalities were reported but one person was hospitalised with first degree burns, and two others were reported missing.
Many of the residents said they were unaware of the fierce fire until their homes were already burning.
The city's mayor said that schools would serve as evacuation centres for the homeless slum residents.
The blaze spread rapidly through the slum, fanned by strong winds and the intense summer heat.
Firefighters struggled to penetrate alleys, which were clogged by people trying to save their belongings.
Many residents wept as they watched their houses and their few belongings consumed by the fire.
"We failed to save anything except our clothes," Glen Sardon, a resident, told the Associated Press.
The fire occured hours after fire volunteers in the city held an event aimed at enhancing their skills in firefighting.
Fires are common in the metropolis of 12 million, especially in shanty areas where houses are densely packed together.
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