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Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Explosion kills boy, maims pals
By Garry Cabotaje
CEBU CITY -- A blast killed a 13-year-old boy and seriously injured his two playmates in Barangay Tugbongan, Consolacion, Cebu Tuesday afternoon.
The explosion, which rocked the neighborhood, happened in the front yard of Consolacion Councilor Ember Alinsug's house.
Killed on the spot was Junji Villanueva, the son of the Alinsugs' laundrywoman and a resident of Sitio Dunggoan, Barangay Tugbongan. He was the eldest of four siblings.
Police have yet to determine whether the explosive was a grenade or homemade dynamite, which fishermen use for blasting fish, and how the children got hold of it.
Junji's friends-ages 11 and 13-were rushed to Cebu Velez Hospital in Cebu City for treatment of serious injuries in the legs.
Alinsug said that none of his family members was around during the explosion.
Based on what residents told him, the councilor said Junji was alone in the Alinsug compound when the two boys came and allegedly handed something to Junji.
Since they were not allowed to enter the compound, the two children handed the item to Junji through the steel fence.
Moments later, a loud explosion was heard.
Tugbongan Barangay Captain Tony Tomongha said the explosion was so loud they could hear it while they were attending graduation rites at Tugbongan Elementary School, some 50 meters away from the compound.
But Alinsug, as well as Junji's parents Diosdado and Geralyn Villanueva, gave more weight to the theory that it was homemade dynamite.
Alinsug, a retired Army captain, discounted the possibility that the explosive was a grenade, since there were no fragments or shrapnel found at the scene.
Senior Inspector Claro Benatiro, Consolacion police chief, said he could not confirm yet if it was locally made dynamite because they found pieces of deformed tin copper.
"But we really want the police to investigate my son's two friends to find out what was the cause of the explosion," a bereaved Geralyn, the Alinsugs' laundrywoman, told reporters last night.
(April 6, 2005 issue)
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