More than 100 Nazarene devotees treated at MMDA station

MANILA, Philippines - As of 8 a.m., 120 devotees to the Black Nazarene were treated at a first aid station of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority after falling from the carriage carrying the religious image during the procession on Wednesday.

A radio report said most of those injured were women who tried to climb the Black Nazarene carriage being pulled and pushed by thousands of other devotees during the yearly procession from Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church in Manila.

An estimated 500,000 devotees to the Black Nazarene trooped this morning at the Quirino Grandstand to attend the Holy Mass, celebrated by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle,  before the procession, the report said.

Authorities also estimated that around 25,000 people have been waiting for the miraculous image today for the celebration of the feast of Black Nazarene.

Last year, it took the devotees 22 hours before the Black Nazarene image was brought from Quirino Grandstand  to Quiapo Church after the carriage's wheels broke down.