Paramedics administer first aid to a girl who fainted during a reported commotion along Gen. Maxilom Avenue., Cebu City. (Facebook grab/ Joshua Barino)
Several people were reported hurt in a “stampede” near a commercial complex along Gen. Maxilom Ave. a few hours after the Sinulog Grand Parade ended last night.
Police were still verifying the report as of 11 p.m., but a source at the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) said a team was sent to the area after they received an alarm for a “stampede.”
Jeany Eve Ynot, 22, said the crowd near a bookstore started to thicken at around 9 p.m. as revelers converged in the area for the post-Sinulog street parties.
Because of the huge crowd, some fainted. And because emergency medical teams could not get through the crowd, it took more than 30 minutes to get to those who needed assistance.
Ynot said she sustained minor bruises and decided to stay in a coffeeshop. As of 12 midnight, the crowd has not lessened, she added.
Facebook user Joshua Barino said he and his friends brought a young woman, who fainted by the roadside, to the emergency room of a nearby hospital at about 11:30 p.m. last night.
John Dejesica, unit assistant at Chong Hua Hospital, said two girls were brought to the ER after they fainted.
The parade attracted a bigger crowd of about 3.2 million people compared to last year’s 2.5 million, police said.
Police reported only minimal cases of theft, dizziness and minor injuries, missing children, and violation of the smoking and liquor ban along the route.
Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, acting regional director of Police Regional Office Central Visayas PRO-7, said at least eight children were reported missing. They were brought to Police Stations 2 and 3, where their parents picked them up.
Councilor David Tumulak, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, also reported 26 missing kids aged one to 10 years old as well as two senior citizens.
Since 6 a.m., they respondent to at least 188 cases of fainting and other medical alarms.
At the Fuente Police Station, 10 incidents of theft were reported mostly by foreign nationals.
Police also apprehended two drunk teenagers after they figured in a fistfight near Elizabeth Mall on N. Bacalso Ave.
Supt. Aileen Recla of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said the teenagers created a brief commotion, but reached an amicable agreement.
Senior Supt. Marciano Batiancela, Jr., head of the sub-Taskgroup Cebu, caught some props men and dancers smoking while waiting for their turn to dance on the street. They were immediately informed about the no-smoking policy along the carousel route. No arrests were made.
Elmer Ingriso, 33, was wounded on his eyebrow when his eyeglasses broke after a ball thrown by those from the Cebuana Lhuillier hit him. He was rushed to an ambulance for medication.
The Philippine Red Cross said they assisted 236 patients as of 8 p.m. yesterday, including 15 who were brought to hospitals.