Glorietta Mall Explosion - 8 Dead, 119 Wounded

October 19, 2007, Wednesday - An explosion occurred in the Glorietta II mall in Makati, Philippines. Reports say that the blast happened at 1:20 in the afternoon on the second floor of the building, destroying the entire wing and affecting Landmark, the adjoining mall, and the parking lot area. Eight people died on impact, one of them a pregnant woman that just got out of a taxi in the vicinity, and 119 were wounded. Most of the fatalities were Ayala mall employees.

Initially, investigators thought the explosion was a result of an LPG gas leak in a nearby restaurant, but that was soon ruled out when they took a closer look at the damage, which was placed at 100M pesos, and the impact of the blast. Civilians on the third floor claim that it was like an 'earthquake' when it happened.

After plastic remains of explosives were found on the scene, it was soon evident that the occurrence was caused by a bomb. The Armed Forces of the Philippines say that it's a definite terror act, though there were no terror alerts prior to the blast.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made a statement that those who were responsible for the blast and those that would take advantage of it would be found and dealt with. She ordered a probe into the explosion and set out 2M pesos as a reward for information on the blast.

In the meantime, the entire Glorietta mall has been closed down from the public until further notice.