Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro says 13 other vendors were injured in the blaze.
Casimiro said it apparently started when sparks from low-slung electric post cables set fire to sidewalk stall umbrellas, then ignited stacks of used clothing being sold at the Zamboanga city market.
Police investigator Rafael Salcedo said the victims were clothes vendors who slept at their stalls, including at least four children, so they could be up early for the weekend market that usually draws sizeable crowds.
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