A casualty of Saturday’s procession is carried to a first aid station after losing consciousness from the heat and the crush of people as millions try to get a glimpse of the miraculous image of the Black Nazarene. (Photo by KJ ROSALES)

The traditional Black Nazarene procession again claimed the lives of two men, while scores of others were injured, as the sea of maroon-and yellow-clad devotees filled major roads and landmarks during the reenactment of the transfer of the image of the black Christ to its home at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) in Manila last Saturday.

Chief Insp. Erwin Margarejo, head of the Manila Police District homicide section, identified one of the fatalities as Rodrigo Omampo, 42, of Arellano st., Makati City.

Margarejo said Omampo succumbed to cardiac arrest at the Ospital ng Maynila at around 11:30 a.m. after he joined a crowd of more than a million devotees in the procession that started at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila’s Rizal Park at 8 a.m.

Margarejo said five other devotees were treated in the same hospital for injuries sustained during the early commotion at the Quirino Grandstand at around 8:30 a.m., or shortly after the procession left for Quiapo.

They were identified as Adelina Bautista, 80; John Marvin De Los Santos, 19; Robert Johnson Madrid; Irish Balano, 17; and Robert Nobregas, 64.

Meanwhile, Malou Garalde, head of the Feast of the Black Nazarene medical team, said in a television interview that another devotee, whom she identified as Bernardino Basilio, was pronounced dead at 7:17 a.m. Saturday at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Basilio suffered severe injuries after falling from the Black Nazarene's carriage before the procession started, according to Garalde.

"This is the initial report that we received earlier. As of now things are not yet final," she said.

As of 11 a.m., the Philippine Red Cross said it had assisted 169 devotees who sustained wounds and complained of dizziness, Red Cross Chairman Senator Richard Gordon said.

"The volunteers took the patients’ BPs [blood pressures] and gave them first aid such as wound cleansing and dressing," Gordon said.

The PNRC deployed nine ambulances, three rubber boats, and 227 volunteers around Manila to aid devotees during the procession.

Meanwhile, initial police estimate put the number of people who joined the procession at two million people as of 9 a.m.

Senior Supt. Lito Mirasol, MPD deputy chief for operations, said they also received reports of some devotees collapsing during the 6. a.m. mass aside from the commotion at the grandstand.

The Black Nazarene procession, which is held annually, has been marred by deaths and injuries of devotees in the past.

In 2008, an estimated crowd of 1.5 million people joined the procession. Two people died and at least 50 were injured.

In 2009, the Church and the local government of Manila decided to change the route of the procession.

Devotees, however, pulled the rope of the Black Nazarene’s carriage back to its original route, causing chaos and confusion. Nearly 100 people were injured.