Seventy-two people died in a huge blaze at a footwear factory in Valenzuela City in northern Metro Manila, authorities said Thursday, as angry relatives and workers described sweatshop conditions including dismal fire safety standards.

Firefighters and police pulled dozens of corpses out of the ruins of the two-storey building of Kentex Manufacturing in Barangay Ugong on Thursday, a day after the blaze trapped the terrified workers with apparently few exits and no fire safety training.