Blast site shows signs of methane explosion

Debris from the Makati mall explosion last Friday that left 11 people killed, 112 wounded and three others missing show signs of a possible methane gas explosion, the head of an inter-agency task force investigating the blast said on Monday. Superintendent Fennimore Jaudian, chief of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s Inter-agency Task Force, said the “physical effects" of the blast point to a gas explosion. He noted that the methane gas could come from the sewage system at the basement of Glorietta 2 where a diesel tank is also located. "Based on the physical effects of explosion, it points to gas explosion. And the possibility (that we’re considering) is methane," said Jaudian. Jaudian is an arson expert whose team was responsible for solving the Superferry 14 bombing in February 2004 and the fire that gutted the old Commission on Elections building in Intramuros, Manila early this year. In the interview, Jaudian said the “methane gas explosion" angle has figured consistently in investigation conducted by his team composed of investigators from the Bureau of Fire Protection and the National Bureau of Investigation. Jaudian also said that the partly-ruptured cover of the diesel tank in the Glorietta 2 basement clearly indicates that the blast came from inside. Earlier, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it could not determine yet the cause of Friday’s explosion, as it maintained that all possibilities are still being pursued in its investigation into the blast. - GMANews.TV