Gas leak eyed in Serendra blast
A section of Two Serendra condominium hit by an explosion in the upscale Bonifacio Global City. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Monday that the possibility that an explosive device caused the Friday evening blast at Two Serendra in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig was getting slimmer.
But Roxas said investigators are now looking at gas leak angle.
Roxas revealed this in a radio interview as three teams of sniffing dogs found no bomb residue at the posh condominium.
Moreover, probers said the blast scene yielded no triggering device.
Three people were killed and five others were hurt in the explosion.
“Hindi conclusive pero masasabi ko pababa nang pababa yung probability na bomba ito dahil . . . walang nakitang triggering device at tsaka negative yung mga aso,” he said.
(Not conclusive but I can say that the probability that it was caused by a bomb is getting slimmer…no triggering device was found and the sniffing dogs found no traces of bomb residues.)
Still, Roxas said authorities will continue the “scientific” investigation to determine the real cause of the blast at Serendra’s Unit 501B.
The explosion that occurred around 8 p.m. Friday was so powerful that a concrete slab was flown some 50 to 70 meters across the street, crushing a delivery van that was passing by. Three were killed, and five others were injured, including the occupant of the unit identified as Angelito San Juan.
If it wasn’t caused by some explosive device, Roxas said another angle could be gas leak.
“Maaari na isang posibilidad na mga chemical ito. Hindi natin talaga natin alam kung ano ang ginagawa nung tao doon sa loob ng apartment,” the secretary said.
(There is also a possibility that this was caused by chemicals. We really don’t know the goings on inside the apartment before the blast.)
To widen the investigation, experts from the Department of Science and Technology were tapped to look into the chemical explosion angle.
Roxas said investigators found out that the building has a tank which supplies gas to each unit of the building.
“Itong condo na ito ang disensyo nito ay para sa gas. May linya ng gas ito. Merong tangke yung building mismo.”
(This condo was designed with built-in gas line. There’s a gas tank in the building.)
