By Antonio Colina IV
DAVAO CITY – The extreme summer heat on Saturday might have triggered the explosion of some explosives stored inside a stockroom of the Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) in Camp Domingo Leonor, the headquarters of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), DCPO head Col. Alexander Tagum said on Sunday.
Bomb squad enters Camp Captain Domingo E. Leonor in Davao City on Black Saturday, April 20, 2019. (ANTONIO COLINA IV / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a text message, Tagum said the EOD team investigating the incident suspected that scorching midday conditions might have set off the explosives at around 11:30 a.m., based on the examination conducted on the fragments of the explosives’ casing recovered from the site.
The explosives were stocked in the ammunition storage of the EOD/K9 Unit, which is the repository of explosive materials that will be used as evidence in court cases.
Firemen were dispatched to tackle the minor fire and managed to put it out at 12:15 p.m., he said.
In a separate report released by the police, DCPO spokesperson Capt. Maria Teresita Gaspan said the result of the technical investigation of the EOD team and the Investigation and Detection Management Branch showed that the blast caused minimal structural damage, owing to the “strong reinforced concrete” of the stockroom, but the individual quarters of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and EOD/K9 were partially damaged.
“It was also the depository storage for recovered and rendered safe dynamites used for illegal fishing, grenades and IEDs presently kept by the said EOD Unit as court evidence,” she said.
No casualty was reported.
READ MORE: Explosion rocks Davao City police office on Black Saturday
Bomb squad enters Camp Captain Domingo E. Leonor in Davao City on Black Saturday, April 20, 2019. (ANTONIO COLINA IV / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a text message, Tagum said the EOD team investigating the incident suspected that scorching midday conditions might have set off the explosives at around 11:30 a.m., based on the examination conducted on the fragments of the explosives’ casing recovered from the site.
The explosives were stocked in the ammunition storage of the EOD/K9 Unit, which is the repository of explosive materials that will be used as evidence in court cases.
Firemen were dispatched to tackle the minor fire and managed to put it out at 12:15 p.m., he said.
In a separate report released by the police, DCPO spokesperson Capt. Maria Teresita Gaspan said the result of the technical investigation of the EOD team and the Investigation and Detection Management Branch showed that the blast caused minimal structural damage, owing to the “strong reinforced concrete” of the stockroom, but the individual quarters of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and EOD/K9 were partially damaged.
“It was also the depository storage for recovered and rendered safe dynamites used for illegal fishing, grenades and IEDs presently kept by the said EOD Unit as court evidence,” she said.
No casualty was reported.
READ MORE: Explosion rocks Davao City police office on Black Saturday