Glorietta II Tragedy

October 19, 2007, around 1:30 p.m., the sound of sirens is the apparent noise in Makati. My colleagues and I just had lunch and was having our after-lunch coffee. Our conversation topic for the afternoon is all about firecrackers. Little did we know that something relative happened just a few kilometers away from where we are. Back in my workstation, a friend who came back from her lunch was hurrying to deliver very grim news: there was an explosion in Glorietta 2 and lots of people are hurt, maybe even dead. The sirens turned out to be from ambulances rushing to Makati Medical Hospital carrying injured people from the explosion. Few minutes later, news broke out online and I was really shaken from what I’ve learned. Indeed, Glorietta 2 experienced an explosion, apparently, from an LPG tank and some people definitely died. Several friends who are also online started to confirm the news and were giving bits of information that shed light to all the chaos that must be happening.

If I were to be asked for the 10 things, be it place, stuff, person, that I consider important or special to me, that mall, Glorietta, definitely ranks in that list. Ever since forever, I’ve been going to that mall and learning that it was desecrated and that there were casualties involved is really disturbing. I work in Makati, and something like this is really out of the ordinary. Imagine, I pass by the very spot where the tragedy transpired everyday after office. It’s the way to the terminal where I usually ride home.

More updates from local networks and news websites came as events unfolded. LPG leak was ruled out and the authorities are considering the fact that a bomb went off, which caused the mayhem. Upon reaching home, I saw videos and pictures from TV that really made it all truly disturbing. There were pictures of the escalator in Glorietta 2, well, half of it anyway; remains of the second floor; a crater from where the bomb went off; several crushed vehicles; numerous injured people; and the worst, dead bodies in stretchers. As of this writing, it is confirmed that 89 people are injured and 8 are dead. News reports say that the injured are already amounting to over a hundred victims, and the list and names are continuously growing by the hour. Imagine the number of people who must have and still are suffering from some idiot’s doing. Innocent lives were put to risk and innocent people died pointlessly.

Let us not be fazed by incidents like this, but rather, be vigilant and take extra care when going to public places. Let’s not also be stupid and blame the government or any people concerned at first sight of tragedy. Let’s just pray for those people who suffered from this nightmare, especially for the families of the innocent people who lost their lives meaninglessly.

Photos taken from Inquirer.net.