Cavite fireworks tragedy death toll rises to 11

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll in the tragedy that hit a fireworks plant in Trece Martires City in Cavite last week has risen to 11, even as investigators shifted their efforts to determining the cause of the incident. Radio dzBB reported that Arnold Pampillona of Starmaker fireworks factory succumbed to his injuries Sunday, while four fellow employees reported missing were considered dead. Superintendent Efren Castro, head of a task force investigating the tragedy, said families of the fatalities had accepted the fate of their loved ones. The report said the families are split on whether to file charges against the management, and with some still hopeful they will get much-needed assistance. In the meantime, Castro said they will continue their retrieval operations for body parts from ground zero. He also said they are now trying to recover fragments of the container van believed to have caused the tragedy when the fireworks inside it exploded. The task force will have no deadline yet in completing its investigation, he added. - GMANews.TV