MANILA – Three Americans and a South Korean were among six people who died yesterday when a fire razed a small hotel near a former US naval base in Olangapo City, police said.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Jose Borlagdatan said the bodies of American victims Patrick Burk, James Brigati and Joe Valoso; Korean national Hyung Ook Kim; and two unidentified Filipinas, were recovered after the blaze that swept through the Dryden Hotel and Restaurant in the entertainment district of Olongapo City at around 3:30 a.m. yesterday.

Initial investigation showed the fire started at the third floor of the hotel owned and maintained by David Fisher, a 70-year-old retired American serviceman.

City civil defense chief Angelito Layug said the three Americans may have belonged to the "fairly large" population of retired American servicemen who live in and around Olongapo.

He added many retirees settled there after the US military pulled out of the nearby Subic Naval Base in 1991.

He said they have yet to determine the cause of the fire.*PNA/AFP

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