8 killed as bomb found by worker explodes in Zamboanga del Norte

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Eight people were killed and seven others were wounded when a bomb, which was found by a worker of an oil palm plantation at Sirawai town in Zamboanga del Norte province, exploded in a bunkhouse there on Wednesday night, police said.

Marcelo Antogan, 23, thinking that his find was a dud, brought the explosive inside the bunkhouse and, against a neighbor’s warning, started pounding its blast tube, which caused the explosion, said Wilson Timbulaan, who lost a number of relatives to the blast.

Jerry Timbulaan, who suffered from minor injuries in the blast, said Antogan even bragged about his find to fellow workers in the bunkhouse.

“My uncle Paul reminded them not to touch it because it might explode, but Antogan ignored the warning and started pounding the blast tube. Paul’s children started surrounding Antogan by then, curious about his find,” Jerry said.

He said after a few hits, the explosive went off, damaging the bunkhouse. The three children around Antogan that time died in the blast.

Killed instantly were Antogan; Roel Balamban 18; Timbulaan brothers Robert, 18, Lloyd, 8, and Ben, 6; and Lade Balamban, 18. Two others—Jeofer Timbulaan, 16, and Junrey Sango, 18—died while being taken to the Zamboanga City Medical Center here on Wednesday night. Sirawai is about 118 kilometers from this city.

Senior Insp. Pocholo Rolando Guerrero, Sirawai police chief, said Antogan found the vintage bomb along a river in Sitio Durian and took it near the bunkhouse in Sitio Washington.

“He took his hammer and a four-inch nail and started pounding it, hoping to find treasures inside,” he said.

But Wilson Timbulaan said what Antogan found was not a vintage bomb, but a type of explosive used in blasting rocks and boulders in the plantation.