Manila police detonate loose grenade found in Port Area

MANILA, Philippines — Officers of the Manila Police District were alerted over a loose grenade without a safety lever on a wooden pushcart parked in front of the office of The STAR in Port Area, Manila, on Sunday morning. 

In a spot report sent to media, Manila police said that the cart's driver called the Baseco Police Station (MPD PS-13) at 9:30 a.m. after he found the grenade without its safety mechanism placed inside the kariton.

Police immediately cordoned off the area on 13th Street and Railroad Street. 

Responding officers under the MPD's District Explosive and Canine Unit confirmed it was an M26 fragmentation hand grenade and conducted a "render safe procedure."

The procedure was a success, police said, after the DECU operatives remotely detached the grenade's fuze assembly "to avoid inadvertent explosion [through] the use of disrupter cannon."

Police Capt. Rey Bundalian, Port Area PCP commander, ruled out the threat against the news company as a motive for leaving the grenade, adding that it was likely someone in possession of an explosive just wanted to get rid of it. 

The safety lever was eventually found 11 feet from where the grenade's body was originally found. 

Photo shows the grenade without its safety lever found in a wooden pushcart in Port Area, Manila City on Sunday morning.

MPD PIO/Release

— with a report from The STAR/Marc Jayson Cayabyab