Seven die in Manila blasts

Manila - Explosions and a fire devastated the Manila offices of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation yesterday, …

Manila - Explosions and a fire devastated the Manila offices of the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation yesterday, killing at least seven people and injuring 13, most of them agency officials, police said.

Two smaller explosions and a fire followed, wrecking the bureau's investigation offices where suspects are questioned and seized material like narcotics, arms and ammunition are stored.

There was no immediate word on what caused the initial explosion. Police said the subsequent blasts might have come from stored arms and ammunition. A radio station said local fishermen had been arrested recently by the bureau with dynamite which they were using for blast fishing, but police said that was unlikely to be a cause.