‘Pure negligence,’ not terrorism, blamed for Zambo tanker explosion

Authorities ruled officially yesterday that "pure negligence" and not terrorism was to blame for the deadly truck explosion that killed more than 50 people, mostly passengers of a bus that drove alongside it.

At a press briefing, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo chided the owner of the truck, Ricasa Trading, for claiming that terrorists were behind the explosion, which took place in a remote hilly town in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur last week.

"It was a pure accident and an act of terrorism is out of the question," Cedo said. "The explosion incident was purely a result of the negligence of the carrier," he told reporters. He also asked the operator of the truck "to be conscientious with the victims’ welfare."

For his part, Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, director of the Western Mindanao (Region 9) Regional Police also ruled out terrorism in the explosion.

"The terrorism theory behind the explosion is not supported by any factual basis, and is probably being floated by the owners of the truck tanker to avoid responsibility for multiple counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries," Caringal said in a report to PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon.

Caringal said it was Ricaza’s lawyer who blamed terrorists for the explosion to shield his client from damage claims.

But the military and the PNP gave conflicting accounts as to what the truck was actually carrying. The Westmincom said it was loaded with caustic soda, and the police said the truck was carrying pressurized liquid carbon dioxide.

Investigators, however, agreed that the truck was traveling downhill when it lost its brakes and slammed into a roadside boulder. The truck was on its way to the Coca-Cola plant in Zamboanga City from Davao City when the accident occurred. The truck exploded just as an RS Transit bus was pulling over. The blast also damaged smaller vehicles in the vicinity. The truck driver was one of the fatalities.

"The investigation disclosed that something leaked from the tank and caused the explosion," Cedo said.

Forensic physicists said the collision ruptured the truck’s pressurized cylinder, causing it to leak. The impact of the collision might have also caused a temperature surge, which triggered the explosion.

Caringal said that tanker owner Mayolito Ricaza of Ricaza Trading and Allied Services pledged before the Sangguniang Panglunsod to shoulder the funeral and medical expenses of the victims. He added that disaster personnel have stopped their retrieval operations.

"So far 50 bodies, mostly mangled have been recovered from the scene and they are now in the process of identifying them," Caringal said.

The explosion was so powerful that it literally tore the truck and the bus into pieces. Bits of flesh and mangled human remains were scattered around the blast site.