Glorietta blast an accident?

What if? Over the weekend, several geek friends of mine have put forward deflagration as the probable cause of the Glorietta blast, especially after The Inquirer published a composite image of the blast site inside the Glorietta 2 lobby.

According to them, deflagration is just like a gigantic fart, wherein tremendous gas pressure is released similar to a gas-powered canon--meaning, in one direction--as opposed to the ripple effect of a bomb.

They point to the damage directed above, all the way to the roof, instead of towards the surrounding areas. There was little shattered glass and not much debris that could have spread over a wide area if a powerful explosive such as C4 was indeed used.

Victims weren't dismembered nor burned. Most died from internal hemorrhage from the crushing pressure wave of the explosion. In fact there was little or no blood at all on the scene. They said if indeed there was a bomb, we would see body parts and bits of flesh all over Glorietta 2. But no, all of the victims were recovered whole, their clothes not even shredded. We only have to look at suicide bombings in Israel and Bali to see that even those who survived the explosions had their bodies burned and all their clothes ripped off.

They also noted early accounts of those who were in the mall hearing a low-frequency, almost muffled thud during the explosion instead of the loud boom that bombing survivors often talk about. Their theory became even more convincing after it was revealed the area under Glorietta 2 has storage tanks for diesel fuel and also houses septic tanks. Both, they claim, can give off explosive gases such as methane.

And finally, they provided me with this video showing deflagration done in small scale using a drum. It's chillingly similar to the damage done to Glorietta 2. The explosion was directed above, instead of around the drum. The drum wasn't ripped apart. Instead, the lid flew some 50 feet into the air.

So what now? What happens then to all the religious-political statements? What happens to all the terror experts' analysis? What happens to the knee-jerk security clampdown all over the country?

If the blast turns out to be a methane or diesel fume deflagration, then all of us merely scared ourselves to death.

What a cruel and sick Holloween trick or treat joke, huh?