The Explosion
The explosion initially killed eleven people through shrapnel wounds, and at least 126 others were injured. The explosion was first reported to be due to an accidentally ignited LPG tank from Luk Yuen Noodle House. However, due to the extensive damage caused by the explosion, the Philippine National Police ruled this out and considered the cause to be a bomb. Whilst there are indications that it was an accident, the possibility of a terrorist attack cannot be discounted," the FCO said in the advisory. The United Kingdom also reiterated that there is a high threat of terrorism throughout the Philippines as terrorist groups continue to plan attacks and have the capacity and the intent to carry out these attacks at anytime and anywhere in the country. The Makati Rescue deployed a total of 40 rescue personnel and four emergency medical services (EMS) doctors to conduct search and rescue operations. The initial team of 10 Rescue personnel arrived at the scene some five minutes after the explosion.
As of 7:30 PM (UTC +8), the blast has reportedly claimed at least nine fatalities and more than 100 were injured. Many of the victims were rushed on to the Makati Medical Center and the Ospital ng Makati (literally, Makati's Hospital). The National Disaster Coordinating Council (as of 5 p.m. Friday), identified 5 of the 11 fatalities as Lester Peregrina, Jose Alan de Jesus, Liza Enriquez and Janine Marcos and Maureen De Leon. The latters body was recovered by Philippine National Red Cross rescue teams led by Richard Gordon. Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom embassies expressed sympathy for the victims of the explosion, promising assistance to the PNP and government in the investigation. Officials also reported that 10 people were reported missing. Police investigators identified 5 of the dead and officially released the names of 34 of the injured rushed to the Makati Medical Center (as of 3 p.m. Friday).
As the investigation continued four days after the incident, authorities are favoring the possibility that the blast was caused by an accident and not a terrorist attack. Although traces of RDX (Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) were found on-site, this does not form conclusive proof that a bomb was the cause, as RDX also has commercial applications. The most probable cause, according to authorities, was the accumulation of methane gas in the building's septic tanks and as well as other combustible materials in its basement. Authorities, however, are not ruling out the possibility of a terrorist attack and are still investigating the incident to discover the true cause of the explosion.
Finally, at November 22, 2007 the Philippine National Police had concluded that the explosion is caused by gas, and not a bomb. However they still did not know how it happened. The policemen are now working on the negligence angle.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Glorietta Explosion
Famous quotes containing the word explosion:
“Moderation has never yet engineered an explosion ....”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“Frau Stöhr ... began to talk about how fascinating it was to cough.... Sneezing was much the same thing. You kept on wanting to sneeze until you simply couldn’t stand it any longer; you looked as if you were tipsy; you drew a couple of breaths, then out it came, and you forgot everything else in the bliss of the sensation. Sometimes the explosion repeated itself two or three times. That was the sort of pleasure life gave you free of charge.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)