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CNN BREAKING NEWS

Blast on Bus Outside Manila

Aired October 18, 2002 - 10:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And right now we want to give you more on that breaking news story we just reported moments ago. Word that we're getting from Zamboanga in the Philippines that an explosion on a bus apparently caused by a bomb placed somewhere on that bus. We don't know exactly how many were onboard the bus. We don know there was a large number of people on board. We have no figures on casualties at this point, but we know that that explosion did actually occur.
We do have a CNN producer there, I'm being told.

Margo Ortigas, are you there?

MARGO ORTIGAS, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I am. Yes, this bus that exploded, they say, additional reports that we're getting they say it was a rather full-passenger bus that wasn't actually in Zamboanga; it was north of the capital city north of Manila. And initial reports we are getting there are some fatalities, and those with serious injuries. We still have no confirmed reports as to how many people have died here. Police are still not saying officially that it was a bomb. All they are letting us know it there was indeed an explosion on this bus traveling north of Manila.

Police are on the scene, as with medics, and just to let you know, as well, that basically the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has been put on a state of alert.

It is our understanding that hospitals in the area are under what they call a blue code alert, which is that majority of the doctors are on full standby for exactly instances like this.

HARRIS: Margo, did police give you any indication as to whether or not they have a suspect in this case or whether or not they had received any claims of responsibility at all?

ORTIGAS: No, there have been no claims of responsibility, and police have been very, very careful in terms of identifying suspects, especially in light of the bombings in Zamboanga just two days ago, really, and there bombings the week before and again the week before that. So there's just been a spate of bombings in the Southern Philippines, and this is the first time it's hit the Northern Philippines and the capital city in the last few weeks. So police have been very careful about speculating who might be behind these bombings.

HARRIS: That's understandable. Margo Ortigas, thank you very much. We appreciate that quick update on that breaking story we had coming to us now from just outside of the city of Zamboanga in the Philippines.

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