FBI: Capeco fuel depot blast was not terrorism or sabotage; fumes to blame - Caribbean Business

October 30, 2009: The blast that shook the San Juan area and sparked a massive blaze at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in Bayamón last weekend was not an “act of terrorism or sabotage,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Fraticelli said Friday. “It has been determined that the Capeco explosion was not an act of terrorism or sabotage. No evidence of any explosives were found at the scene,” said Fraticelli as he summarized the findings of a federally directed probe that employed 241 investigators and questioned 105 witnesses. The FBI official said gas fumes were to blame for the explosion and fire that burned 21 of 40 tanks at the Capeco oil farm before firefighters finally snuffed the flames Sunday afternoon after a nearly three-day battle. Fraticelli said a cloud of gasoline vapors covered a large part of the Capeco site. “Then, an electrical source at the site sparked the first fire that then touched off the massive explosion,” he said. [Open link for full story and related stories.]