3 killed in Zambo City blast

MANILA, Philippines – Three people were killed while 4 others were wounded when an explosive commonly used for “blast fishing” went off in a house in a coastal village in Zamboanga City early Tuesday dawn.

The Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) identified the fatalities as Agsali Subbaani, his wife Jannuka and their son, Pansidal Agsali.

According to police probers, the couple, who belong to the Badjao tribe, were overheard arguing inside their house at Purok 4, Barangay Rio Hondo prior to the explosion, which occurred around 1am Tuesday.

“The wife was seeking separation but the husband resisted,” ZCPO Acting Chief Edwin de Ocampo said in Filipino.

Post-blast investigators have yet to reconstruct the explosive that caused the blast but De Ocampo said it is likely that the husband set off the dynamite at the height of their argument.

“He took a dynamite which they traditionally use or blast fishing, lit it and exploded it in their presence,” De Ocampo said, pointing out that his investigators are also looking into the possibility that the explosion was accidental. 

The couple’s four other children, Pasig, 11, Singa, 10, Puja, 9 and Goa-goa, 7, sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of their bodies and were brought to the Zamboanga City Medical Center. – Rappler.com