Channelnewsasia.com
Saturday, November 22, 2008
   
 
  blogs  
 
yournews
   
Coping with the Crisis
Video Finance Features Weather Travel Discussion TV Shows
CNA Live    | About Us 
 
  Home ›
 
Asia Pacific News

 
 

US, Australian experts help Philippine detectives probe mall blast
By Channel NewsAsia's Philippines Correspondent Christine Ong | Posted: 22 October 2007 1956 hrs

 
 
Photos  of

   
 

MANILA : Forensic experts from the US and Australia are helping detectives in the Philippines investigate last Friday's shopping mall blast.

Philippine police have not found bomb fragments and say they have not ruled out the possibility that the explosion was an accident.

The explosion in the Makati financial district left 11 dead.

Investigators in the Philippines are still trying to confirm the cause of the powerful blast that ripped through the Glorietta mall in the capital on Friday.

Local authorities had identified traces of RDX, a main component of the C4 military grade plastic explosive, but American investigators studying the blast site did not detect similar traces.

Investigators are now exploring the possibility of the explosion being caused by an accident in the basement of the mall.

They say fumes could have leaked from a huge diesel fuel container or methane gas could have escaped from a septic tank, igniting the tightly-enclosed concrete basement.

The uncertainties contributed to a 4 percent dip in the stock market on Monday.

Joel Gaborni, Head, Public and Investor Relations, Philippine Stock Exchange, said, "We are like the rest of the country waiting for conclusive finding - we appeal to investors to remain calm….we don't want to add to the confusion and the tension."

Businessmen are concerned that until investigators pinpoint the perpetrators of the explosion, investor confidence could continue to decline.

Alberto Lim, Executive Director, Makati Business Club, said, "It will certainly give them a pause...this bomb is a major event that could signal a red light to them."

Businessmen are hoping that the Glorietta 2 explosion is just an isolated incident and not similar to events in the early 1970s which led to the declaration of Martial Law.

Some observers even suggest that the explosion may have been staged by members of the Arroyo administration, to divert attention from allegations of corruption against the president.

Mr Lim said, "Before Marcos declared martial law, he staged events like bombings to show that we are in a bad state - to give justification to martial law."

Other than investigators from America's Federal Bureau of Investigation, anti-terrorism experts from Australia's Federal Police are also helping Philippine authorities pinpoint the cause of the blast. - CNA/ms

 

 



Other asiapacific News
China's Hu salutes Bush, hopeful for Obama
China, Taiwan hold historic meeting
Eight Thai protesters wounded in new attack
Indonesia leader demands oil states take crisis action
Bush bows out, China assertive at APEC summit
Tibetan exiles tackle future China policy
Pakistan urges end to US missile strikes as latest attack kills four
Yoga forbidden for Muslims in Malaysia
Supporters to protest Taiwanese ex-president's detention
Peru and South Korea to launch free trade talks
China angrily dismisses US congressional report
US wants to send more troops to secure Afghan elections, says Gates
US unsure of Kim Jong-il's recovery after health crisis
Philippines' Arroyo heads to Peru after emergency landing for husband
China has only identified 19,000 quake victims
Bush seeks APEC backing on NKorean nuclear, financial crisis
UN body criticises China over "widespread" torture allegations
Chinese readers still snapping up books on Barack Obama
Amnesty urges China not to execute convicted spy
China refuses to budge on Tibet amid talks
Ex-Thai coup leader expects peaceful protests
Thai unions pledge strike unless government steps down
Divisions cloud meeting of Nepal's ruling Maoists
Funeral bombing kills seven in Pakistan
Leading ladies of Malaysian politics battle for job
Shanghai's Peace Hotel to become arts centre
US Congress warned of Chinese cyber, space threats
Troubled Indonesian tycoon to drop Cabinet post
Indian PM appeals against caste, religious divisions
China plans US$440b investment in quake-hit province

 


Advertisements

 
Affiliate Sites:
 
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  Advertise with Us  |  Terms & Conditions