Godlike Productions - News: Blast at Mall Kills 8 in Philippines

11:40 AM

News

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Breaking News Back

Blast at Mall Kills 8 in Philippines

New York Times

2007-10-20

Eight people were killed and as many as 130 others wounded Friday when a powerful explosion ripped through a shopping mall in Makati City, the Philippine capital’s financial district.

“This was a bomb,” the country’s police chief, Avelino Razon, said at the scene. “But we can’t say anything else yet because we are still investigating.”

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in a statement late today, gave assurances of a swift and full-blown investigation. She said the police and the military were “on their highest alert” and that 2,000 more security officers had been deployed to secure public places.

“I warn those who seek to destabilize our government not to exploit this incident for their selfish political motives,” Mrs. Arroyo added, apparently referring to her political opponents, who have been calling for her ouster because of accusations of corruption. “This is the time for all of us to unite. We urge all sectors to remain vigilant as the government steps up security measures to protect our people.”

An initial police report attributed the destruction to the explosion of a tank of liquefied petroleum gas in a restaurant, but that theory was soon discounted. “It appears that this was caused by a bomb,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

The explosion occurred at 1:30 p.m. on the ground floor of Glorietta 2, a mall popular with young professionals and other affluent Manila residents, the police said. It destroyed a portion of the mall’s roof and damaged several shops. Debris littered the street, some of it damaging cars parked near the complex. Eyewitnesses said it left a crater at the foot an escalator, near one of the mall’s entrances.

Among the wounded are two South Koreans and one Chinese, officials said.

Icy Marinas, a shopper, told the radio station DZMM that she had been only 15 meters, or 50 feet, from the explosion, which she described as being like an “intense earthquake.” Ms. Marinas said she saw a pregnant woman crying and others rushing for the exits.

A taxi driver told The Associated Press that the blast slammed two women who had just gotten out of his cab back against it, killing both of them.

Filipino blogs and message boards were abuzz Friday afternoon with accounts of the explosion. One blogger who calls himself Disney posted more than 30 pictures of the explosion less than two hours after it happened.

“I’m still shaking,” he wrote. “I saw debris falling down when it exploded and people were screaming and running coming out of the smoke.”

Angeliz105 posted on a message board : “I have never expected myself to be an eyewitness to such a tragedy. Man staring blankly at his bloodied hand, women hysterically screaming, unconscious woman lying lifeless near the blast, frantic sirens and alarms, broken glass and debris everywhere.”

The Philippines is home to Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group linked with Jemaah Islamiyah, the terrorist network based in Indonesia that is suspected to have ties to Al Qaeda. According to the police, the two groups are responsible for some of the worst attacks in the country.

Terrorist attacks and bombings in the Philippines have occurred mostly in the troubled island of Mindanao, in the south, where Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah are most active.

Email Article

Discuss in the Forum

Back

Vote For Godlike Productions!

Disclaimer:
This website exists for entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for our small staff to manually review each and every one of the more than 5000 posts GodlikeProductions gets on a daily basis. The content of posts
on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of GodlikeProductions. This site may contain adult content and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.

Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to USE DISCERNMENT and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Godlikeproductions.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Godlikeproductions.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.

This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Godlikeproductions.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.

Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.

We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!

Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information please visit:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

This Disclaimer is subject to change at anytime.

Mail Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.

Page generated in 0.037s (1 queries)