Cavite factory blast started from metal container van - survivor

MANILA, Philippines – The power explosion that hit a fireworks factory in Cavite province last week may have started from a metal container van inside the establishment’s production area. This was according to Nenita Guyo, one of the survivors in the blast that killed 11 people and wounded about 70 others last January 29. A statement from the Inter-Agency Anti-Task Force (IATF) quoted Guyo as saying that she heard a loud explosion from a table where her co-worker, Avelina Rodriguez, was weighing black powder between two container vans. She was also quoted as saying that the blast was so powerful that Rodriguez's body was lifted off the ground together with the table she was working on. “May biglang sumiklab sa ilalim ng mesa sa puwesto ni Nanay Velen (Rodriguez) at biglang sumabog ng malakas at nakita ko siyang umangat kasama ang mesa. Di ko na nakita kung saan siya napunta,” Guyo said. ["There was a spark from beneath the table where Nanay Velen was working, then there was an explosion which was so powerful I saw Nanay Velen lifted off the ground."] Guyo was one of the victims that survived the blast that took place in Starmaker factory in Trece Martires City at about 10:45 a.m. last January 29. \ Another company, Yushita Electronics, located in the same compound as Starmaker, also burned down in the fire that followed the explosion.- Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV