Blast kills 6 in southern Philippines

A huge explosion has killed six people and wounded more than two dozen at a restaurant in the southern Philippines, police and local officials say.

On Saturday, police sources in the southern port city of Cagayan de Oro, located on the main southern island of Mindanao, said that the blast hit the restaurant around midnight.

“We will have to wait for the results of the investigation,” Cagayan de Oro police chief Graciano Mijares said.

Police officials also said that Roldan Lagbas, a member of the provincial executive board of Misamis Oriental province, was among the casualties.

“I looked around and saw this ball of white smoke. People were running away bloodied and survivors were dragging at least seven or eight people away from the blast site,” said a witness.

Mayor Oscar Moreno also said that at least two of the wounded were in critical condition, adding, “Doctors have been attending to them and we hope their situation will stabilize soon.”

In a similar incident last month, an explosion hit a luxury apartment block in the Philippines’ capital, leaving at least six people dead and five other people wounded.