The Nazareno Operations Center confirmed on Thursday evening the ropes holding the “andas” or carriage of the Black Nazarene snapped on its way to the Minor Basilica of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church in Manila, affecting the movement of the Traslacion.
“One rope broke, that’s why there’s no balance. Only one is pulling the carriage. That rope eventually gets worn out and breaks because so many people are pulling it,” Manila Police District (MPD) chief Police Brigadier General Thomas Ibay told reporters.
As a result, the carriage needed to be manually pushed, slowing the procession down. Ibay also said some devotees were jumping from roofs to the ‘andas’ during the Traslacion.
“The movement is slower this time compared to last year because of the devotees who attempt to climb the carriage,” Ibay said.
Quiapo Church said the ropes snapped while the andas was traversing Finance Road and Ayala Boulevard. Some devotees were going against the direction of Traslacion and were seen climbing over the carriage.
Last year, the Traslacion took almost 15 hours.
Based on the current pace, Ibay said the Traslacion this year may take around 16 hours.
Latest figures from Quiapo said that there were 630,000 estimated crowd attendance in this year’s Traslacion. The procession of the centuries-old image officially started at 4:41 a.m.
