Noon crowd at Quiapo swells to 105,000

The noon crowd at Quiapo Church and its surrounding areas on the day of the Traslacion has ballooned to 105,000, according to police estimates.

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene is into its 10th hourly mass of the day, with attendees filling the church to capacity and thousands others spilling out into adjacent streets.

The crowd has steadily grown since starting at an estimated 5,000 at 11 p.m. Tuesday night. By 7 a.m., the number was at 40,000. Three hours later, it has grown to 100,000.

By 2 p.m., the crowd has decreased to 80,000.

As of 12:19 pm., the main body of the procession has reached the Dasmariñas/T. Pinpin area, police said.

200 rushed to first aid stations

Meanwhile, some 200 people have so far been rushed to first aid stations around the Quiapo church.

Two first aid stations set up within the vicinity of the church reported 75 and around 130 cases as of early Wednesday afternoon.

The cases dizziness, foot wounds, among others.

One of the stations, the civil defense group's, said two of their patients — one with a history of stroke and another who sustained a suspected fracture — had to be taken to the Ospital ng Maynila and the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, respectively.

Security

A total of 1,945 police and military forces are securing the area, and Police Superintendent Julius Caesar Domingo, the area commander, said the festivities have been generally peaceful so far.

No untoward incidents have been reported apart from minor injuries and ailments, he said.

Domingo also said two men have been arrested in his area: one allegedly carrying marijuana, and another who was supposedly the subject of a standing arrest warrant for violence against women.

The latter, a devotee of the Black Nazarene, was reported by his own wife to the police, the area commander said.

‘Zero-vendor policy’

Inspector Mardonio Abuda, PIO of the Manila Police District - Police Station 3, said in a Balitanghali interview that there were also reports of missing children and people experiencing dizziness.

He however assured that authorities are present in the area for assistance.

Abuda said clearing operations of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Coast Guard in Quiapo Church have been ongoing since Tuesday following the implementation of the "zero vendor" policy.

Abuda discouraged devotees from bringing children to the Traslacion, and elder people from joining the hustle for them to avoid fainting. —KBK/KG, GMA News