At least 10 people killed and more than 30 wounded as mortar goes off on rural service in country’s south, authorities say

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in what authorities described as a mortar bomb explosion on a bus in the southern Philippines.

The rural bus was passing near the main gate of Central Mindanao University in Maramag town, Bukidnon province, on Tuesday night when a powerful blast sent shrapnel and debris flying through the vehicle, said town safety officer Alejandro Navarro.

It was thought a mortar concealed in a bag went off in an overheard rack, Navarro said.



Investigators were searching for other possible devices in Maramag, about 535 miles (860km) south-east of Manila, said police officer Rufina Bayarcal.

Ralph Quilla, a 17-year-old student who was riding on the bus, said the explosion occurred at the back of the vehicle and wounded him in the arm. “There was a loud explosion that filled the bus with smoke,” Quilla said from a hospital where he and other victims were taken for treatment. “I saw bloodied people and jumped out of a window.”

Islamist rebels and extortion gangs have been blamed for past bombings on buses in the country’s south.

The attacks have continued despite a state of high alert for military and police forces in the south because of sporadic bombings and other attacks by hardline Islamist insurgents opposed to a new autonomy deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country.