Palaro cauldron explodes

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – No burnout or heat stroke but a blowup.

The Palarong Pambansa, normally beset by athletes suffering burnout or heat stroke, was disrupted this time by an explosion that destroyed the Games cauldron at the oval of Bicol University (BU), hurting two meet personnel.

The metal cauldron was cradling the Palaro flame that was supposed to keep burning until the last day of the Games.

Sadly, it didn’t last the distance.

Roderick Mendoza, Albay sports coordinator, said the lighted cauldron was kept burning since the start of the Palaro Sunday, causing its metal structure to expand and explode, scattering metal debris that hit two meet employees, Thea Nocido, 23, and Susan Ocfemia, 52. They suffered minor lacerations.

“We immediately brought them to the nearby Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) for treatment of their wounds. They were now out of the hospital,” Mendoza told The STAR.

It was the only case in Palaro memory where the Games flame that is traditionally extinguished at the close of competitions, expired ahead of the meet.