Death toll in Philippine mall blast rises to 11 as investigators doubt bomb theory

Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from an explosion at an upscale shopping mall in Manila rose to 11 on Sunday as investigators cast doubt that the blast was caused by a bomb.

Philippine national police chief Avelino Razon said Friday's explosion at the Glorietta 2 shopping mall in the heart of the capital's financial district of Makati was set off by a bomb, but three government investigators told The Associated Press this was a premature conclusion.

The investigators, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said no bomb parts have been found so far in a cargo storage basement where the blast most likely happened. They added they were considering all possibilities, including an accidental blast.

The police crime laboratory office said a sample of debris tested positive for RDX, an ingredient of the high explosive C4, but that finding was being re-evaluated because all other samples from the blast site have tested negative for explosives, according to the three investigators.

"It's too premature to make any conclusion while the suspected explosion site remains under water," said Makati councillor Jejomar Erwin Binay, who has been monitoring the investigation at the scene of the blast - the most fatal to hit the capital in recent years.

Authorities began to siphon off waist-deep water in the mall's cargo storage basement late Saturday, where they found the body of a woman partly covered by debris. A badly wounded victim died from massive blood loss in a hospital early Sunday, Binay said.

Most of the wounded have been discharged from three hospitals, but three other victims remain in intensive care, Binay said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called an emergency security meeting Saturday and plans a larger National Security Council gathering in a few days. Authorities also announced a bounty for any information leading to suspects, if the blast was an act of sabotage.

The three investigators looking at Friday's explosion said there was a possibility that fumes may have leaked from a huge diesel fuel container, or methane gas from a septic tank, and ignited in the tightly enclosed concrete basement.

The ruined basement still reeked of diesel fumes Sunday, they said.

Rumours have spread fast by word of mouth and cell phone text messages blaming the mall blast on a variety of suspects - from military renegades, to Muslim militants and government forces loyal to Arroyo, whose administration has been linked to a string of corruption scandals.