Fire destroys 106 houses in Ecuador

QUITO, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- A fire destroyed on Friday early morning some 106 houses, most of them made of cane, in Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, leaving some 500 people homeless, the Ecuadorian Firemen Corps said.

To the moment the causes of the fire are unknown, according to the authorities the fire took place in the sector called "Esmeraldas Chiquito Cooperative," a zone of low income in the south of Guayaquil, the most populated city of the country.

According to the authorities the fire began about 00:30 a.m. local time.

Ecuadorian Health Minister Caroline Chang visited the place and said there were not reports of deaths. However, she said 14 children are hospitalized with asphyxia symptoms.

Chang also said that three mobile unites of her Ministry are given clinic and psychological attention to the victims.

Meanwhile, on Friday morning, the National Secretariat of Risk Management, the Economic and Social Inclusion Ministry, the Urban Development and Housing Ministry, the Ministry of the Litoral and the government of Guayas began to recover information to establish the exact number of affected people.

The Housing Ministry was analyzing the possibility of declaring an emergency in order to give to the victims cement houses in a term of 45 days.

Meanwhile, Francisco Estarellas, representative of the Economic and Social Inclusion Ministry said that "more than 500 people" were affected by the fire.