CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The storage area of the Philippine National Police’s Region 10 Mobile Force Battalion in Barangay Indahag here exploded on Friday afternoon, August 2.
“There was smoke and then seconds later a series of the explosion was heard,” said Police Major Evan Viñas, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office spokesperson.
The explosions happened around 2 p.m., he added.
Viñas said they are still probing whether the facility first caught fire which caused its stored bombs and other explosive devices to blast off, or there was an incident that triggered the explosions which resulted in the fire.
Viñas said more than 50 pieces of assorted ordnance, including court evidence, vintage mortars dating back to the Second World War, and unexploded bombs from Marawi City, were stored in a shed made of wood and galvanized iron sheets.
A firefighter, who responded to the incident, was hurt when shrapnel from an exploded bomb hit his finger.
Viñas said it was fortunate that the storage area was situated far from the police battalion headquarters hence the explosions inflicted only minimal harm.
A team from the Explosive and Ordnance Disposal unit was deployed on-site and is still investigating the incident, he added.