MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 1, 2013) – Philippine officials on Saturday said an American national was among 5 people injured in a powerful explosion in a posh apartment building in Manila that also killed 3 Filipinos.
Officials said the foreigner, Allan Poole, a resident of Two Serendra in Taguig City, was rushed to hospital along with another Filipino, Angelito San Juan, whose body is severely burned.
Three other Filipinos, who were just passing near the building at the Bonifacio Global City, were also injured from falling debris.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said San Juan’s unit at Room 501 was where the explosion occurred late Friday.
He said the investigation is going and would not say whether the blast was caused by a bomb or a gas leak. “We can’t say at this point what the cause of the explosion and investigation is ongoing,” he said.
He said three people were killed after a slab of concrete wall landed on a delivery man, pinning the trio inside.
Friday’s Television news photos and videos shared by citizens showed chunks of concrete and debris scattered on the street below the building.
One witness, who was a building occupant, said he heard the powerful explosion and smelled an obnoxious smoke. He said security guards also told building occupants, particularly in Tower B, to vacate the area as police investigate the blast.
The explosion was so powerful that it shattered the glass facade of a grocery across the residential building. (Mindanao Examiner)
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