MANILA: Damage from a blast that ripped through a Manila shopping mall, killing 11 people, has been put at over US$2 million dollars, mall owner Ayala Land said on Tuesday.

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said the explosion is not expected to cause a significant loss in revenue.

"Although we are currently undertaking an assessment of the total financial impact of this incident, we initially estimate the physical damage to amount to approximately 100 million pesos," the statement said.

The blast tore through the Glorietta mall in Makati's financial district last Friday killing 11 people and injuring over 100.

Experts from the FBI, the Australian Federal Police and the local police are trying to determine the cause of the blast.

Manila police chief Geary Barias on Tuesday said the investigation was "leaning towards an accident" although he would not discount the possibility it was a terrorist attack.

Barias said initial findings showed that a tank of bunker fuel and methane from industrial waste may have caused the explosion.

Police however had earlier said that they found traces of military explosives at the site.

Ayala Land said it was "conducting detailed engineering investigation and analysis ... to determine the extent of the damage caused by the incident".

It said it was taking measures to ensure that all the victims and their families were "attended to with maximum care".


- AFP/so