Electrical wires 'old', basement flooded before Glorietta blast – workers

Prior to the October 19 bloody explosion at Glorietta 2 in Makati City, construction workers had observed that the mall's basement was flooded and the electrical connections in the area were already worn out, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said in a statement. The NBI said four workers have surfaced at the bureau to provide information on their activities days before the explosion, which killed 11, and hurt at least 112 others. The NBI said the workers had a contract with the mall’s owner, Ayala Land Inc., for the reinstallation of two submersible pumps at the Glorietta 2 basement. The bureau withheld the names of the workers. “That at the time of the installation they have observed that the pumping area of the basement was flooded. Also they had observed that the electrical connection was old and were already bypassed by their electrician so they could function," the NBI said in the statement. “Likewise while in the basement, they have difficulty in breathing as there was no proper ventilation... brought about by fetid odor in the basement," the NBI added. Even with the workers’ statements, Ruel Lasala, deputy director of the NBI Intelligence Services, said the bureau was not ruling out other angles in the incident. “The NBI is in full support of the PNP’s (Philippine National Police) and the DILG's (Department of Interior and Local Government) Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force gas explosion theory because there is so far no evidence to suggest that it was a bomb explosion," Lasala said. - GMANews.TV