Facebook activates ‘safety check’ after bomb attack in Philippines

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., speaks during the Facebook F8 Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Zuckerberg plans to unveil tools that let application makers reach the social network’s audience while helping the company boost revenue. Photo credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Facebook activated its “safety check” feature shortly after a bomb tore through a night market in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s home city, Davao, late Friday. At least 12 people died and dozens were injured.

Agence France Presse reports:

The blast occurred just before 11:00pm (1500 GMT), leaving bodies strewn amid the wreckage of plastic tables and chairs on a road that had been closed to traffic for the market in the heart of Davao city.

An improvised explosive device caused the explosion, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding drug traffickers opposed to Duterte’s war on crime or Islamic militants may have been responsible.

Facebook sent notifications to people it thought were near the site, but it seems to have gone slightly amiss sending messages to users outside Davao – even as far as the capital, Manila.

Duterte declared a “state of lawlessness” early Saturday to counter any attacks. “It’s not martial law but it would require nationwide, well-coordinated efforts of the military and the police […] There will be major checkpoints,” he said during a televised interview.

Launched in 2014, the “safety check” feature gives Facebook users who are in the area of terrorist and other deadly attacks or disasters a simple way to inform their family and friends that they are unharmed.

The social network has activated the tool a couple of times around the globe over the past months. It was deployed in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that struck central Italy, after the attacks in Paris and the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.

This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the company was working on a way to allow users to activate the feature themselves.