The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Manila

A bomb ripped through a shopping mall in the Philippines capital's financial district Friday, killing eight people and injuring at least 70, police said.

Panicked shoppers ran out of the Glorietta mall in the Makati district of Manila as smoke billowed out of the building and police rushed in.

A member of the rescue teams inside the mall told AFP four people have been confirmed dead. Local television said at least 45 other people were injured. Police initially blamed the noon time blast on a gas leak at a restaurant inside the mall. However national police chief Avelino Razon said: "From our assessment this was not, as initially reported, an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) leak.