Red Cross: Nearly 1,000 Nazarene devotees needed medical help

MANILA, Philippines - More than 300 devotees were wounded while hundreds more needed medical attention during the Black Nazarene procession on Friday, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) reported.

In an update on its Facebook page past 4 p.m., the PRC said 986 people had been assisted through first aid and ambulance services.

Of the said figure, 619 people needed their blood pressure level checked, 353 had their wounds cleaned while nine experienced difficulty of breathing.

Four devotees were rushed to a hospital while one was given psychosocial support.

Earlier, a member of the Hijos Del Nazareno, a religious group securing the carriage, suffocated to death when his chest got caught on the stainless railings of the carriage of the wooden statue of Christ.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also reported that 84 people needed medical treatment for various conditions even before the procession started past 8 a.m.

The devotees believe the centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ carrying a cross is a source of miraculous powers that can cure ailments and provide good health and fortune.

The wooden statue of Christ, crowned with thorns, is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene. Some believe the statue's survival from fires, earthquakes and even intense bombings during World War II is a testament to its mystical powers.

Police say up to 1 million people have joined or watched the raucous procession. Officials and church leaders expect millions will show up for the the January 15-19 papal visit.

About 5,000 policemen were deployed for the daylong procession, with 1,000 military personnel on standby, police Senior Superintendent Jigs Coronel.

"This is like a mini-papal event in scope," Coronel said. "We'll be able to put to a test our security plans, crowd control, anti-crime measures, emergency and medical response."

Crowds threw small white towels at volunteers manning the statue's carriage to wipe parts of the cross and the statue in the belief by devotees that the Black Nazarene's mystical powers will rub off on them.

Mary Rose Ricafort carried a small replica of the Black Nazarene as she followed the procession. "I want my father to get well," she said, adding her father has suffered a stroke.

Joel Talaban, a 51-year-old storeowner, said he has been a devotee for three years and hopes that by finishing the procession "I will be able to give a good life to my children and keep them away from vices, and also to ask for our daily sustenance."

Friday's procession will take at least 15 hours to snake through about seven kilometers (four miles) of streets before ending at Quiapo Church, home of the Black Nazarene in central Manila. -Louis Bacani with Oliver Teves, the Associated Press