4 killed, 5 wounded in blast near Jolo market

By Ronron
July 21, 2007

Four persons died while five others were wounded when a stack of blasting caps exploded on Saturday afternoon near the public market of Jolo town in the southern island province of Sulu, police said.

Sr. Insp. Amil Baanan, Jolo chief of police, dismissed though the angle of terrorism in the blast that happened at 3:15 pm at a small variety store beside the public market along Serantes Street of said town.

“A pile of blasting caps that are locally made exploded probably due to mishandling.. This has nothing to do with terrorism,” Baanan told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview last night.

Baanan said the blasting caps were being sold secretly by the owner of the variety store to fishermen who resort to dynamite fishing in the province.

“It appears that the owners are using their sari-sari store as front of their illegal business,” he said.

Baanan said police and military troops are still investigating what triggered the blasting caps to explode. He estimated based on the impact of the blast that there were 100 to 200 blasting caps that blew off.

Baanan said they also recovered 60 bags of ammonium nitrate from the blast site.

The four fatalities include the couple who owned the store, a male Badjao who is suspected to be buying at that time of ingredients for dynamite, and a woman.

The five wounded victims, on the other hand, who include a 14-year-old boy, were brought to the Integrated Provincial Hospital in Jolo where they are being treated. They are believed to be passers by in the area.

Baanan said the incident will prompt them to inspect the different stores at the public market of Jolo to make sure they are not engaged in the illegal trade of dynamites./DMS