[Digestion] An accident waiting to happen (methane+diesel fumes)?

[gp baron]

Given that in the Philippines, it takes about 2 weeks for a pseudo-government entity to know (or remember?) handing out cash bundles of half-a-million pesos each to some governors after the latter met with the President ... 

See: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=96876 

... It is interesting how our military "intelligence" knew immediately that methane+diesel fumes can cause a HUGE blast to kill 11 and injure 100+  ... 

Is this story below plausible? If it is then, it probably worth discussing in this forum.

The mall & its owner (in addition to being the one of the largest & most affluent property developer in the Philippines) pioneered since the 1970's & now operate the most modern sewage & waste water treatment systems for all their properties.

As the "accident" was witnessed by many, recorded by surveillance cameras & broadcast on live TV almost immediately and was initially suspected as a bomb (or an LPG tank exploding due to improper connections?) -- no one spoke of seeing, hearing or smelling fire or smoke that would be characteristic of diesel (or just methane+diesel fumes) burning.

However, should our military "intelligence" be correct, the world can learn much from this "accident" and let us ensure it does not happen again to anyone anywhere.

‘An accident waiting to happen’
        By Cecille Suerte Felipe        
Thursday, October 25, 2007Page:  1 
-->
It was really “an accident waiting to happen” – and it did happen, with tragic results. A lethal mix of methane and diesel fumes in a poorly ventilated basement compartment set off an explosion last Friday at Glorietta 2 that killed 11 people and wounded more than a hundred others.  
 This was how Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. described to The STAR editors and reporters the initial findings of the team investigating last Friday’s explosion at the Makati mall.
 The blast, which occurred when the weekend crowd was building up, was initially blamed on terrorists and later on some elements in the Arroyo administration who reportedly wanted to distract the public’s attention from fresh scandals besetting the government.
 Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), operator of the Glorietta malls, debunked police claims that the blast was accidental but declined to offer another explanation for the blast.
 Razon said foreign experts, including those from Australia and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, corroborated the initial findings of police investigators.

Full article available at: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20071024103

Ayala Land rejects gas blast theory
        By Zinnia dela Peña and Jose Rodel Clapano        
Thursday, October 25, 2007

(excerpts) Page:  1 
-->          

Ayala also rebuffed police claims that inadequate ventilation caused the accumulation of methane at the basement. “The basement is ventilated by air entering the approximately 2.4x2.4 meter opening at the stairwell, which is connected to the delivery bay area which at that time was opened to the road,” Ayala said
 He added that it was almost impossible for methane to accumulate at the mall basement since human waste coming from the mall doesn’t stay long at the building’s sump pit. The waste is “98 percent liquid,” he said.
 “There is constant flow of mainly liquid wastewater from toilets into the sump pit and onto the city sewer. Wastewater entering the pit stays in the pit for less than 24 hours,” Ayala explained. 
 “The usual decomposition process brought about by large amounts of solid matter in house septic tanks does not occur in this commercial sump pit,” he pointed out.
 He also stressed that the diesel tank at the basement was in good shape and that it was last used during a power outage in June.  
Full article available at:
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20071024104