RP airport power outage

Mon, 29 Jan 2001 | Source: AP

MANILA (AP): An accidental explosion destroyed an electrical cable and triggered a power outage and crippled operations for more than an hour at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday, officials said.

Airport officials ruled out sabotage and speculated the explosion may have been caused by a spark from a faulty cable igniting underground gases.

The power outage shut a central air conditioning system, baggage conveyors and most computers, halting services and inconveniencing hundreds of plane passengers, witnesses said.

News of the explosion and the sight of security personnel moving around to restore order also scared many people at the airport. The airport was one of five places struck by powerful bomb attacks that killed 22 people and injured more than 120 people on Dec. 30.

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