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| Southeast Asia |
| 30 injured in Philippines ferry boom |
| 2005-08-28 |
| Some 30 people were injured when a powerful explosion ripped through the passenger section of a ferry at a port on Basilan island in the southwestern Philippines, an army general said on Sunday. Brigadier-General Raymundo Ferrer, the island's army commander, said the steel-hulled ferry Dona Ramona was boarding passengers in Lamitan port when a blast occurred near the vessel's cafeteria, triggering a small fire. The blaze was contained within minutes, but blast damage was extensive. "We're still trying to determine what kind of explosive device went off," Ferrer told reporters. "We have evacuated the ship and sent the wounded people to nearby hospitals" He said investigators were collecting evidence at the blast site. It was suspected that a home-made bomb had been placed alongside rows of tanks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the ferry's pantry. Jinmy Andong, a town official, said six passengers had suffered third-degree burns. He said the military were sending two helicopters to transfer the critically injured for treatment in the southern port city of Zamboanga. Witnesses said passengers panicked after the explosion, some jumping overboard as fire raged in the ferry's kitchen on the lower deck. Ferrer said no group had claimed responsibility for the attack on the ferry, which had been preparing to leave for Zamboanga, but Basilan is known as a hotbed of the al Qaeda-linked Muslim militant group, Abu Sayyaf. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |