Manila, Rajab 25, 1436, May 14, 2015, SPA -- The death toll in a fire that razed a footwear factory in the Philippines rose to 72 Thursday as emergency workers retrieved charred bodies from the gutted building, dpa cited the interior minister as saying. "There were reports that as many as 200 workers were employed by the factory but we are checking if all of them were around when the fire happened," Manuel Roxas told reporters after visiting the site of the fire in the Manila suburb of Valenzuela. The fire broke out on Wednesday after an explosion believed to have been caused when sparks from a welding machine hit a container of chemicals used in making rubber slippers. --SPA 13:41 LOCAL TIME 10:41 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w