Camille Naredo

Authorities respond to the explosion at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility in Marikina, July 7, 2025. Handout/Marikina City Police Station

Authorities respond to the explosion at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility in Marikina, July 7, 2025.

Article (news)

Armscor

Jeff Caparas

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1751971499493070825_Armscor .jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Authorities respond to the explosion at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility in Marikina, July 7, 2025. Handout/Marikina City Police Station"/>Authorities respond to the explosion at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility in Marikina, July 7, 2025. Handout/Marikina City Police Station</div>MANILA – Authorities are looking into the possible “mishandling” of explosive materials as the cause of a deadly blast at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility.The explosion, which occurred at the Rimfire Department of the plant on Monday afternoon, led to the deaths of two employees and left another injured.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/8/2-confirmed-dead-from-blast-in-marikina-guns-manufacturing-facility-0920">READ: 2 confirmed dead from blast in Marikina guns manufacturing facility</a></div>According to Marikina Police Chief PCol Geoffrey Fernandez, the incident happened as a 44-year-old employee was transferring around five kilograms of primer mixture at a table near his 34-year-old colleague when the material suddenly exploded.“Ang namatay po doon ’yung may hawak nung mixture then katabi niya ’yung isa pang namatay ’yung tinamaan sa dibdib. Then ’yung isang malapit, ’yun, ’yun ’yung na-injured,” said Fernandez.“Yung una pong namatay ay tinamaan kasi sa dibdib niya no’ng sumabog. Then ’yung pangalawang namatay, naputol ’yung kamay niya. Siya ’yung naglapag? Siya ’yung naglapag,” he added.The victims were rushed to the hospital but were declared dead shortly after arrival.The Marikina Police said early findings by the Explosives and Ordnance Division point to possible mishandling of the explosive mixture due to its high sensitivity.“’Yan po ang sabi ng EOD, possible mishandling of mixture due to high sensitivity due to impact,” said Fernandez said.“Siguro doon sa paglapag niya. Yun ang ano kong possible mishandling or aksidenteng basta na lang sumabog siya,” he added.Despite the tragic incident, police noted that the plant appeared to follow standard safety procedures. Employees were reportedly wearing gloves, masks, and eye protection at the time of the incident.“’Yun talaga may mesa doon ah pagtanggal doon sa naka-cover na cloth then nilagay sa table. Kasi doon sa paglagay niya sa table, uh doon nagkaaksidenteng sumabog,” Fernandez said.AGDI confirmed that the facility was designed with safety in mind, particularly in areas handling highly explosive materials. The room where the explosion occurred was steel-reinforced to contain any potential blasts.One surviving worker, identified only as Roel, was saved by a protective barrier at his workstation. His mother shared how close her son came to being a casualty.“Syempre malungkot yan namatay yung dalawa niyang kasama eh. Buti kamo daw yung yung ano niya katapat niya may ano may harang. Kung hindi eh baka siya eh ano din,” she said.“Mabuti, ay, mabuti nga at pasasalamat ko, wala siyang ano eh. Wala siyang ano sa katawan. Kundi yung ano lang, mapula lang yung gilid ng mata niya tsaka yung tenga niya. Syempre sa lakas ng ano, sabog,” she added.This was not the first safety-related incident at the Armscor facility. In March 2024, a fire broke out in the gunpowder bunkers, but the company clarified that the two events were unrelated.“[This is] completely different. That was our powder bunker where there’s no personnel. There was spontaneous combustion. That was the PNP and Bureau Fire finding,” said Martin Tuason, Chairman, President, and CEO of AGDI.Tuason offered condolences to the families of the deceased and promised support.“Personal help will be reaching out, myself, my whole family will give personal assistance, as well as reaching out to our customers and our vendors and suppliers. And all our friends if they’d like to contribute to their funds so that we can help them at least financially ease the burden,” he said.The Rimfire Department ceased its operation while the investigation is ongoing.AGDI also assured full cooperation with the investigation into the blast.

Authorities are looking into the possible “mishandling” of explosive materials as the cause of a deadly blast at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility.

Authorities are looking into the possible “mishandling” of explosive materials as the cause of a deadly blast at the Armscor Global Defense Inc. (AGDI) ammunition and firearms manufacturing facility.

Possible mishandling eyed in fatal explosion at Armscor plant in Marikina

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Possible mishandling eyed in fatal explosion at Armscor plant in Marikina

Jeff Caparas,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 08, 2025 06:57 PM PHT

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Marikina

Armscor Global Defense

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