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Makati blast likely caused by gas explosion - investigators


An accidental gas explosion most likely caused the blast that killed 11 people and injured more than 100 others at the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City, police officials said Tuesday. Investigators set aside the possibility that a terrorist attack sparked Friday's blast after finding no bomb parts, residue or crater at a basement where the explosion originated, police said. "The October 19 blast was a gas explosion and not a terrorist bombing as earlier feared," police Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman told a high-level security meeting convened by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In a bid to restore public confidence in one of the country's most popular malls, Mrs Arroyo toured the unaffected portions of the Glorietta mall, buying a business suit and leather boots, waving at shoppers then stopping at a kiosk for coffee with mall executives. "It's business as usual," she told a throng of reporters. She inspected the ruined Glorietta 2 mall, looking grim as she glanced at the row of shattered glass panes and damaged shops, said Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who accompanied the president. Relying on initial reports, Arroyo and police officials suggested that the blast was probably caused by high-grade explosives. But investigators, backed by US and Australian experts, have all but dismissed that theory. Police said they found no bomb fragments in the debris, or a crater that would have been created by a powerful bomb. Ticman, who heads a multi-agency investigation of the blast, said fumes from a huge diesel fuel tank and methane possibly leaking from a septic tank and waste water treatment facility might have accumulated in a mall basement, which had no functioning ventilation or exhaust system. Volatile gas The volatile gas might have been ignited by electrical switches, motor pumps or batteries, producing powerful shock waves that deformed the concrete ceiling, rattled the whole building like an earthquake and destroyed a huddle of cars and delivery trucks parked nearby, police officials said. Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said authorities would assess whether the mall owners have any criminal liability after the investigation. He also ordered other shopping centers and buildings inspected for safety. Despite initial findings that the blast was accidental, an anti-terrorism task force reported during the security meeting that it has drafted legislation making illegal possession of explosives a non-bailable offense. Police officials said intelligence-gathering and street checkpoints were being beefed up to safeguard the bustling capital of 12 million people. The mall explosion came at a time when Mrs Arroyo was grappling with a series of corruption and bribery scandals that have rocked her administration along with raging Muslim and communist insurgencies. Investigators conveyed to the President information which allegedly showed a "high" probability that last Friday's explosion was an accident. Puno, concurrently presidential political adviser, told reporters that the PNP reported that there is "high certainty" that the blast was accidental. Probe not over Director Gen. Avelino Razon Jr, Philippine National Police chief, told the President during Tuesday's meeting that investigators have not dismissed the bombing angle even though evidence tended to show a different cause. Razon was quoted by radio reports as saying that the probe has not been concluded and that all possible angles were being checked. The blast left 11 people dead and over a hundred others injured. "Ang masasabi natin lamang ang theory na accidental gas explosions based on the facts and evidence that we have gathered in the scene but we are not totally discarding the bomb blast. The investigation continues to proceed at nagpapatuloy pa rin tayo to look at all angles," Razon said. The police chief said the PNP was still awaiting word from forensic experts before totally shelving the possibility that it was caused by a bomb. "(President Arroyo) ordered that a conference be undertaken with the experts not only local experts, itong tumutulong sa atin sa investigation, kundi kasama pati ang FBI and AFP experts," he added. PNP bomb experts earlier detected the presence of RDX, the main component for the production of C-4 military plastic explosives. However, Puno on Tuesday said the evidence would still show that the explosion was an accident since RDX can allegedly be found on everyday items. These items, Puno said, include aerosols and cosmetics. Puno also said the PNP maintained that the hole on the mall's diesel tank bolstered suspicions that the explosion was not deliberately carried out. Investigators have yet to recover any bomb components from the scene. What was believed to be a crater on the floor, Razon said, was actually a stairwell that led to the basement. President Arroyo reportedly conveyed that she was satisfied with the findings so far, but ordered the PNP to continue coordinating with experts from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australia. Inspections In a related development, Puno ordered more inspections of malls, condominiums and similar structures in the wake of the incident. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was now inclined to believe that the Glorietta explosion was an accident and not an act of terror, which he earlier suspected was the cause. He advised building owners to inspect their structures's basements to prevent a repeat of Glorietta incident. As this developed, the Metro Manila police on Tuesday ruled out bombing as the cause of the explosion. Police Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, said the blast was more likely triggered by gas that leaked from the mall's basement. "The Philippine Bomb Data Center, together with the EOD (explosives and ordnance division) and SOCO (scene of the crime operations), completed yesterday (Monday) the post-blast investigation," Barias said. Barias said the significant findings are the following: 1) no traces of Improvised Explosive Device component were found; 2) there was no crater found; and, 3) there was no ventilation at the basement for air circulation. "What I can say is it's very difficult to support the theory of (bombing) in the absence of the two critical things," Barias said, referring to the first two findings. Barias said the physical effects of the incident support the gas explosion theory, particularly the upward direction of the blast. "The petro-chemical experts also examined the layout of the fuel tank and their finding is that it did not follow the standard cylindrical structure that would cause an even distribution of the pressure. Their tank is rectangular and this might have contributed to the explosion," he said. Asked about the liability of the basement operator, Barias said: "That should be a necessary consequence of the investigation because people died and people were injured. So there should be some criminal liability and civil liability for that." The investigators, however, have yet to identify those who have responsibility over the facility. Methane blast doubted As this developed, a chemical engineer at the Philippine National Oil Company expressed his opinion Tuesday that methane gas could not have caused the explosion. Saying that he does not want to be quoted as an expert, the source said it is general knowledge that methane is a flammable gas common in all decaying organic matter. The combustible gas is also present in human feces and in septic tanks. "But an explosion of that magnitude would not come from methane alone," he said. Superintendent Fennimore Jaudian, chief of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s Inter-agency Task Force, earlier said the "physical effects" of the blast show signs of a possible methane gas explosion. He said 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. 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. - GMANews.TV with a report from Amita Legaspi and the Associated Press
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