26 injured in Quiapo fiesta

At least 26 persons were reportedly hurt as some 100,000 mostly male devotees participated in yesterday’s annual celebration of the feast of the Black Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila.

According to Wilky Law, of the Fire and Emergence Paramedic Assistance Group, most of the reported injuries suffered by the participating devotees were minor, ranging from bruises to slight cuts that were sustained during the procession around the streets of Quiapo.

The feast of the Black Nazarene and its procession dates back from the 17th century when the image, carved from dark wood was shipped into the country from Mexico.

Since its arrival in the country, mostly male devotees troop to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene at the heart of Quiapo to participate in the procession.

Mostly clad in maroon shirts, the barefooted devotees make a mad rush to get a grip on the long rope attached to the image’s caroza.

Some of the devotees get injured trying to scramble on top of the caroza and touch the image which they believe can cure illnesses and diseases.

Veteran devotees say that some people were even killed in the past years as they were trampled by the sea of devotees who are also trying to get near the miraculous image.

The image of the Black Nazarene left the basilica at about 2 p.m. and slowly made its way through the streets of Quiapo as devotees swarm to get close to it.

As the image neared the Quezon Bridge, a slight commotion occurred after the caroza tilted a bit after devotees clambered on top.

Shortly after, fans of Sen. Noli de Castro cheered as the solon was spotted leaving the crowd. Clad in a white shirt and rolled-up jeans, De Castro made a quick dash to a waiting gray Ford Expedition but not after shaking a few hands and waving to the crowd.

As compared to last year’s celebration of the feast, yesterday’s procession was rather peaceful with no major untoward incident reported to the police.

"It was most probably because of the cool weather that there were no untoward incidents reported during the procession," said Senior Police Officer 4 Ben Garcia, duty officer of the Barbosa police detachment.

The Western Police District has deployed some 200 uniformed policemen in Quiapo to keep the feast and procession peaceful and orderly.