Grenade blast hurts 37 during circus

CHARMAINE Lansang, 13, one of those wounded in the grenade blast, still wearing her bloodied shirt. KARLOS MANLUPIG/INQUIRER MINDANAO

DAVAO CITY—At least 37 people were injured when a grenade exploded during a small circus in a remote village here on Saturday night.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Ronald de la Rosa said their investigation revealed that the suspect’s target was an Army detachment, but the grenade hit a “net barrier” and landed on a crowd of villagers watching a circus inside a gymnasium in Barangay Fatima in Paquibato District at about

9 p.m.

The gathering was a weekend merriment for villagers prior to the barangay fiesta.

Some of those injured were brought to Panabo City in Davao del Norte and to  Southern Philippine Medical Center hospital (SPMC) here.

Charmaine Lansang, 13, said she was watching the show when she heard a loud explosion.

“The blast was so loud that I was temporarily disoriented and could not hear anything. I was thrown by the explosion,” Lansang narrated in her hospital bed at SPMC.

When she gained consciousness, she found that she was hurt and bloodied.

“I started running toward the exit of the circus. It was chaotic. Everyone was running from almost every direction,” Lansang, who suffered shrapnel wounds on her back, added.

Lansang’s sister Regine, 17, was also wounded in the back, stomach and left leg but was immediately allowed to go home after receiving medical attention.

“The doctor said that I should stay here in the hospital because the shrapnel are still in my body and may have injured my lungs,” the younger Lansang said.

Paquibato District, a remote part of the city, is a known hotbed of communist guerrillas. Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao