MANILA, Philippines - Five persons were hurt on Monday after a grenade exploded inside a bus in Zamboanga City.
Police and survivors said the agency's mini-bus was picking up workers along the Maria Clara Lobregat Highway at North Site, Barangay Tetuan when a suspect on board a motorcycle lobbed a fragmentation grenade inside the bus that exploded about 7 a.m. Monday.
The victims, all employees of the Sangali Fishing Corp. sustained wounds in their feet. Those injured were identified as Emil Anitan, Luciano Jelada, Orly Villareal, Ombre Hamsirani, and Eugene Christian Lozano, Jaafar Hassan, and Steven Sustento. They were all rushed by the emergency responders to a nearby hospital for treatment. The driver of the bus identified as Jaime dela Rosa was unhurt from the blast.
The victims were on board a bus of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, traveling along a highway in Barangay Guiwan around 7 a.m. when a man wearing a jacket threw a grenade at the vehicle.
“The bus was (moving slowly) after picking up some of its passengers when the suspect tailing on board a motorcycle lobbed the grenade inside the bus,†said city police director Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo.
“We were already rolling when I suddenly heard a loud explosion from behind. I was really surprised and when I looked back , everything was in smoke before I could pull over,†Dela Rosa, 55, the company driver said.
The bus and a nearby business establishment were partially damaged by shrapnel as a result of the explosion.
De Ocampo was looking into extortion and possible grudge as motives for the attack.
The grenade attack halted the supposed first day flag ceremony of Mayor Ma. Isabel Climaco-Salazar, who assumed as the new mayor at the city hall, as she rushed to the explosion site to check on the victims.
Salazar said security would be stepped up as she directed the police to capture the perpetrator.