Captain Ceferino Manzo, 51, told members of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) during the start of the formal investigation that the entire tourist section was engulfed in "thick black smoke (that) smelled like gunpowder."
Manzo, a gun club member who was raised at a military camp, said he was familiar with the smell, and compared the intensity of the blast to cannon fire.
"The explosion shook the vessel," he said. "I felt (as if) my vessel (had run) aground."
Manzo’s testimony virtually refuted the earlier claims made by officials who said no equipment or chemicals were on board that could have accidentally exploded.
Officials also played down the Abu Sayyaf claim, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of a terror attack. The Coast Guard has confirmed that a man identified by the Abu Sayyaf as its "suicide bomber" was among the missing, but cautioned that anyone could make such a claim.
The safety supervisor of the ship’s owner, WG&A, also testified that about 150 survivors told him the explosion took place in the area where the Abu Sayyaf said its man detonated a bomb.
"One thing we are sure of, there was an explosion," Capt. Erden Ferrer told the inquiry, but said he could not conclude what caused it.
Ferrer also said the explosion did not take place in the ship’s kitchen or near the LPG storage facility since their findings show that the blast occurred in a passenger area of the ship.
He said the kitchen and the gas tanks were nowhere near the site of the explosion.
Ferrer disclosed their own findings revealing the interviews he made with the surviving crewmembers and a security officer identified as Alvin Reyes, who was with a group closest to where the explosion occurred.
He said Reyes was thrown several meters away by the blast, but his two companions perished.
Ferrer quoted Reyes as saying "a big boom and big bright flash from behind him" occurred before he was thrown by the force of the blast.
Reyes then reportedly fled to safety as several pockets of fire raged around the area. The fire immediately engulfed the upper decks of the ship, Ferrer said, quoting Reyes’ narration to him.
"Nobody could say what caused the fire but the fire was spreading quicker than any ordinary fire," Ferrer said.
Manzo claimed the explosion came before the fire while Ferrer said the source of the explosion was the corridor of the "Blue Section" or tourist class area of the ill-fated ferry.
Their testimonies seemed to give credence to claims that the ship became a target of terror attack, as owned up by the Abu Sayyaf.
Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafi Janjalani earlier claimed one of their "suicide bombers" triggered a bomb inside the ship’s cabins.
Janjalani reportedly named the bomber as one Arnulfo Alvarado who was described as "Passenger 51" in the blue section of the ship.
Authorities earlier said their initial investigation showed that the explosion took place in the vicinity of bunk 51, the occupant of which was later identified as Alvarado.
Based on the ship’s manifest, Alvarado was listed as a 33-year-old passenger bound for Cagayan de Oro City. He was among those confirmed missing and whom no relative had inquired about.
Officials earlier dismissed the Abu Sayyaf claim as a publicity gimmick. Maritime authorities said no equipment or chemicals were on board that could have accidentally exploded. So far, fire experts have found no trace of explosives inside the half-submerged vessel.
Three more bodies were recovered yesterday from the vessel now lying on its starboard side in shallow waters off Mariveles, Bataan. - AP, Jose Aravilla