Death toll from Makati mall blast rises to 9

The death toll in Friday afternoon’s blast at the Glorietta 2 in Makati City rose to nine after rescuers recovered the body of a victim near Ground Zero before dawn Saturday. Radio dzBB reported that rescuers found the body of Reiner Tan near an escalator near the entrance to Glorietta 2 at 2 a.m. Saturday. His wife Normita identified his remains, even as the family of another missing person stayed near the scene to see if their loved one can be rescued or at least recovered. Kin of Maureen de Leon stayed near Ground Zero, noting that Maureen was a friend of two of the female fatalities. The dzBB report said Maureen’s wallet had been found. The number of injured varied among different groups. The Philippine National Red Cross placed the number at 98 but said the number will likely go up. PNRC deployed eight emergency response teams to the area and set up emergency treatment areas there. It also established a desk in the area to provide support to victims’ kin. On the other hand, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) as of 1 a.m. placed the number of injured at 111, 60 of whom had been discharged from hospitals. As this developed, the Ospital ng Makati, one of the hospitals where the blast victims were brought, reported receiving at least two bomb threats, the last at 7:23 p.m. But Southern Police District (SPD) head Chief Supt. Luizo Ticman said a check of the facility revealed no bomb. As of Friday night, operations at the Glorietta 1, 3 and 4 were “back to normal." Meanwhile, President Arroyo visited and offered financial assistance to families of some of the fatalities at Veronica Funeral Homes Friday night. Earlier, Arroyo, health secretary Francisco Duque III and social welfare secretary Esperanza Cabral made a quick visit to the Makati Medical Center to visit some of the victims. Partial list of casualties in Glorietta blast