AFP: Eight people were killed and thousands left homeless as two fires struck the Philippine capital on Christmas Day, with one of the blazes sparking a riot in a slum, officials said.         

Seven charred bodies, all believed to be from one household, were recovered after a blaze razed a row of old apartments in northern Manila at dawn, fire officer Francisco Mabunga told AFP.         

The cause of the blaze, which broke out as the metropolis of 14 million people held Christmas Eve parties that lasted until dawn today, is under investigation, officials said.         

"They are all believed to be from a family that owned the apartment row and lived in one of the units where the fire was suspected to have started," Mabunga added.         

A second blaze broke out at a sprawling shantytown, sparking riots that left one man dead and lead to two suspected rioters being arrested, said Manila fire marshal Santiago Laguna.         

"They (residents) started grabbing hoses from our firefighters, who could not do anything as they feared for their own safety," Laguna said in a radio interview. 

Image: A resident douses embers at his charred home after fire razed some 500 houses at a residential area in San Juan City, Manila 

Photograph: Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters