Casualties from Nazarene parade expected to increase - PNRC

At the end of last year's Feast of the Black Nazarene, around 400 people became either ill or hurt from the day-long procession on the streets of Manila. This year, the number of casualties has already matched last year's figure even before the parade of the miraculous statue could reach Quiapo Church. As the night further deepens and the statue inches its way to the historic Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, the number of injured devotees could further rise, according the Philippine National Red Cross, which extends medical assistance to participants of the feast. "We think there will be more casualties tonight. We were told a lot of people are still arriving," PNRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Saturday.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV As of 5 p.m., the PNRC said it gave first aid treatment to at least 432 people, most of them devotees. But she said the cases only involved minor injuries and illnesses such as dizziness, hypertension, and hyperventelation, as well as head and foot injuries. Only two from the 432 cases were considered serious. Eighty-year-old Avelina Bautista was seriously hurt when a metal object fell on her head. The second serious injury case involved a still unidentified man whose left shoulder got dislocated. Meanwhile, two other devotees died, according to Pang. Rodrigo Ocampo, 42, died upon arrival at the Ospital ng Maynila due to cardiac arrest. Bernardo Basilio, 40, died at the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital due to several multiple injuries. But Pang said only the medical committee formed by the Catholic Church and tasked to oversee the feast could declare if a death had something to do with the Nazarene parade. Asked what could be behind the upsurge in the number of casualties this year, Pang said it could be due to the huge crowd. "This year, we made sure that no one will be affected because the [carriage] passed through a wider road... But maybe it's because there are more people this year," she said. Senior Superintendent Ernesto Tendero, chief of the Manila Police District-Station 3 said at about 10:40 p.m. that the number of devotees who joined the parade had swelled to about four million. - MARK D. MERUEÑAS/ARCS, GMANews.TV