Roxas: Serendra blast so far shows no indication it was caused by a bomb

From InterAksyon (Jun 1): Roxas: Serendra blast so far shows no indication it was caused by a bomb

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Saturday morning said three teams of bomb-sniffing dogs had so far discovered nothing to suggest that the explosion that rocked upscale condo complex Serendra on Friday evening was caused by a bomb. No trigger mechanism has also been turned up by investigators.

Roxas relayed these initial findings to media on Saturday, even as he said that the blast site -- involving units on the fifth floor of Two Serendra in Taguig City -- will be treated as a crime scene, primarily to preserve the area for further investigation and evidence-gathering.

Authorities are urging the public not to speculate on the incident, pending investigations. Roxas had earlier said police will explore "all angles", adding that it was too early to say what caused the blast.

Still, the fact that sniff dogs and investigators have so far found no evidence that a bomb was involved may move questions towards whether or not the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak or some sort of combustion. Three separate canine teams with different handlers were brought to the affected units, and not one dog behaved as sniff dogs do when confronted with bomb materials--by either barking repeatedly or sitting on an affected area and not budging.

"We still have not seen any triggering device of any kind among the debris," Roxas told reporters hours after the explosion.

Ayala Land Inc., developer of Serendra at the Bonifacio Global City, said it was cooperating fully with authorities. Roxas said investigators have been given access to CCTV footage from Serendra.

Residents of Two Serendra had been evacuated as of Friday evening. Ayala Land had also ordered all gas pipes and utilities in building shut down as added safety precaution, and pending investigations as to what caused the explosion.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/63045/roxas-serendra-blast-so-far-shows-no-indication-it-was-caused-by-a-bomb