FIRECRACKER WAREHOUSE BLAST LEAVES 5 DEAD, 38 WOUNDED IN ZAMBOANGA CITY

FIVE people on Saturday were killed while 38 others were injured in an explosion that hit a firecracker warehouse in Zamboanga City.

According to Zamboanga City Police Office chief Col. Kimberly Molitas, they are investigating what caused the blast and subsequent fire in Bgy. Tetuan that killed five people, two of them children.

Local police, fire , military and civilian rescuers rushed to the site to bring the victims to the ospital.

Molitas said they are investigating how the huge volume of firecrackers ended up in the warehouse.

Police said the owner of the facility has been included in the investigation.

The blast was so powerful that it tore the concrete walls of the warehouse and nearby residences and toppled several electric posts in the neighborhood.

Firefighters from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)  declared  the fire under control at 6:40 p.m. Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to investigate possible violations of occupational safety and health standards in a pyrotechnics warehouse hit by the massive explosion that killed five people in Zamboanga City.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said he directed the DOLE-Zamboanga Peninsula to probe the blast that also injured 38 others and left a large hole in the ground.

The operations of the firecracker warehouse in Bgy. Tetuan will be suspended while the investigation is ongoing.