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March airport blast Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/880411.asp?cp1=1http://www.msnbc.com/news/880411.asp?cp1=1
19 killed in Philippines airport blast
One American reported among dead; dozens wounded
MANILA, Philippines, March 4 Ñ A powerful explosion ripped through the waiting area of an airport in the southern Philippines, killing at least 19 people, including an American, and injuring scores of others, authorities said Tuesday. With many of the injured in serious condition, officials feared the death toll could rise.
THE BLAST ROCKED the Davao airport on the island of Mindanao at 5:20 p.m. local time, said local civil defense chief Susan Madrid.
Two other explosions were reported in the area on Tuesday. Local officials told NBC that one person was killed and at least two wounded in Tagum city, which is northwest of Davao city.
No one claimed responsibility for the blasts but the military has blamed Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels for a string of attacks, including a car-bombing at nearby Cotabato airport last month that killed one woman.
Madrid said the explosion occurred as scores of people waited for a plane to arrive.
ÒIt was a very, very loud explosion,Ó Terry Labado, an airport official said. ÒI saw bodies flying.Ó
ÒWe rushed out of the building to see where the explosion happened,Ó she said. ÒWe saw many dead.Ó
DETAILS ON WOUNDED
An airport security official, who did not want to be identified, said the bomb rocked the front of the terminal building, smashing windows and causing considerable damage.
ÒIt happened ... a few minutes after a Cebu Pacific flight arrived and people packed the waiting area. There were many people killed. I saw six persons killed on the spot,Ó the official said.
Madrid said 18 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. One hospital alone reported 91 casualties.
The dead included a boy, a girl, nine men and seven women, officials said.
There were conflicting reports on American casualties. A U.S. Embassy official told Reuters that four Americans were among those wounded while the Associated Press gave details on three Americans hurt in Davao.
Later, the embassy told Reuters that one American man had died from wounds, raising the overall death toll to 19.
According to the Associated Press, the injured Americans were Barbara Stevens, 33, and her 9-month-old son Nathan. They were brought to Davao Doctors Hospital, hospital staff said.
Another American, identified as William Hyde, was treated for multiple injuries at Davao Medical Center, Dr. Manuel Tan told the AP. It was not immediately clear what they were doing in Davao.
BACKPACK BOMB
TV footage showed the waiting stand in front of the terminal building wrecked by the blast, metal pieces strewn on the road. The injured included young children.
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ordered all pharmacies and drug stores to remain open to supply medicine to the victims.
National Police Deputy Chief Edgar Aglipay told a Manila radio station that the explosion was caused by a bomb hidden inside a backpack.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Òstrongly condemns the Davao bombing as a brazen act of terrorism which shall not go unpunished,Ó her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
Arroyo called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet oversight committee on internal security later Tuesday.
Flights to and from Davao were suspended.
The Moro rebels have been fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the impoverished southern Philippines for three decades. Despite a 1997 shaky cease-fire, fighting has occasionally flared up.
NBCÕs Eric Baculinao, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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