Eight killed in bombing at Philippine mall
Related Videos Eight killed in bombing at Philippine mall MANILA : Philippine police have placed Metro Manila on red alert after a powerful explosion rocked a crowded shopping mall in the business district.
Eight people were killed and close to 70 others injured.
Police sources have been quoted as saying traces of C4 explosives were found at the scene, but investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the blast.
It was the jam-packed lunch hour when an explosion ripped through an upscale mall right in the heart of Makati, Manila's financial district.
Damage to infrastructure was massive, and a passageway linking the Glorietta 2 mall to another shopping centre was totally destroyed.
The powerful blast also shattered windows and damaged several cars parked just outside the building and witnesses reported that a portion of the ceiling collapsed.
"The man in front of me who was wearing blue died. We don't know what happened to his child but his wife's foot was severely injured," said one eyewitness.
As soon as the police and ambulances arrived, the wounded were carried out of the mall in stretchers.
Many of the victims had been hurt by shards of glass.
The police initially attributed the explosion to a gas leak in a restaurant at the mall, but later expanded the possible causes.
Gerry Barias, Metro Manila Police Chief, Philippine National Police, said: "I told the media earlier that the cause of the explosion was Liquefied Petroleum Gas but that wasn't an official assessment. We're not discounting any other possibilities."
Before the blast, the police had received intelligence reports of plans by terrorists to launch attacks right after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Bomb squads are sifting through the debris looking for clues, while more police officers have been activated to divert traffic and seal off the surrounding area. - CNA/ch
Una explosión en una tienda exclusiva en el principal distrito financiero, Makati, de la capital de Filipinas, Manila, dañó el Glorietta Mall y causó la muerte de al menos ocho personas e hirió a otras 126 personas; 98 de éstas últimas requirieron hospitalización mientras que las otras 28 fueron dadas primeros auxilios en heridas menores en el sitio de la explosión.

El siniestro ocurrió a la 1:30 p.m. (hora local) luego de que los empleados de las distintas compañías en Makati terminaron sus almuerzos. Autoridades policiales reportaron inicialmente que la causa de la explosión fue el filtrado de gas de un tanque gas licuado del petróleo, pero luego de unas horas el Jefe de la Policía Nacional de Filipinas, el Director General Avelino Razon Jr, descartó la posibilidad de que un tanque de GLP haya causado la explosión, declarando que la explosión podría haber sido causada por una bomba ya que los investigadores en el sitio sintieron olor a pólvora y no GLP.

La Presidente de Filipinas, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, se encontraba en camino al sitio de la explosión. Por el momento, la explosión sigue bajo investigación y el escuadrón de explosivos se encuentra en el comercio para verificar que no haya residuos de bombas o restos humanos.