5 hurt in LPG blast

Five members of a poor family in Manila were injured, one in critical condition, when a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank exploded at their house in San Andres yesterday morning.

The timely arrival of firefighters prevented a small blaze from turning into a conflagration. The explosion, however, caused the wooden structure of the house to collapse and walls made of hollow blocks to crumble.

Investigation conducted by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Section (EODS) of the Western Police District (WPD) showed the explosion occurred at the Navales residence on Singalong street in San Andres past 6 a.m.

It was gathered that the Navales family was cooking viands for sale to the neighborhood when the explosion happened. The Navales are one of four families renting the ground floor of the two-story house.

Rushed to the Ospital ng Maynila were Richard, 41, the father; Maryjane, 36, the mother; and their children Ruffa Mae, 5; John Rix, 3; and Kyla, eight months old.

The children escaped with minor burns, while their parents sustained serious burns. As of press time, the mother remains unconscious after sustaining a laceration on the forehead.

WPD-EODS investigators recovered several meters apart an empty 2.7-kilogram LPG tank and a burner. The smell of LPG fumes still permeated the area of destruction when investigators arrived.

EODS chief Inspector Rudy Supsupin confirmed the gas explosion theory since no crater was found on the site, the wall partitions that crumbled were pushed outward and the victims suffered flash burns.

Oscar Villacero, the house owner, estimated the damage to his property at around P500,000. Probers said the LPG gas tank was purchased last August 11 from a gas service and appliance store in Paco, Manila.

The recovered empty gas tank was turned over to the Paco Fire Station for further investigation.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza ordered a thorough investigation into the explosion.

Atienza said an investigation should be made to prevent similar incidents in the future.

"We have to get to the bottom of the incident and determine those responsible for the incident," Atienza said.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Emmanuel Gaspar said the couple would be transferred to the Burn Unit of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for further tratment.

"We have yet to talk to the couple, but we heard the incident could have been caused by a faulty gas tank," said Gaspar.

Gaspar theorized that the gas tank started to leak the previous night. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe