ITOGON, Benguet — Authorities are investigating a deadly incident at Atok Gold Mines that left one security guard dead and three company structures destroyed by fire late Monday night in Sitio Assay, Barangay Gumatdang, Itogon, Benguet.

The victim, a security guard whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was fatally shot. The suspect, who is also a security guard at the mine, is the target of a police manhunt.

Initial investigation reports suggest the violence stemmed from a heated argument among guards who were drinking inside the barracks. Witnesses told investigators the dispute escalated dramatically when one of the guards allegedly discharged a firearm just before the building was engulfed in flames.

The Itogon Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported that the fire was called in at 9 p.m. Monday and was declared out at 1:21 a.m. Tuesday. The fire destroyed the barracks, the office and the staff house.

BFP investigators are probing the cause of the fire while police actively search for the armed suspect.