SAN JOSE DEL MONTE CITY (UCAN): At least one person died and 53 were injured when part of the second floor of St. Peter Apostle Church in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province, the Philippines, collapsed during a packed Ash Wednesday Mass.
The accident occurred during the middle of the liturgy, local officials said. Some 400 people were reportedly attending the Mass in the church, which was established in 1994, media reports say.
City mayor, Arthur Robes, named the victim as Luneta Morales, an 80-year-old grandmother and a member of the church choir, who died in hospital.
“Others have returned home after having their wounds cleaned and prescribed medicine. Some others are under observation,” Robes said after visiting the site.
Videos posted on social media showed chaotic scenes in the church as the second floor crumbled and fell on parishioners as they queued to have ash applied to their foreheads. Many of them were screaming and stumbling as they rushed to escape.
Robes said the injured were rushed to a local hospital for treatment of injuries.
“The local government has also covered all the medical expenses of the injured,” Robes wrote on his Facebook page.
City Building officials have also conducted damage assessment while the mayor has ordered that Mass not to be celebrated there for the time being.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, Gina Ayson, said the injured suffered only minor bruises.
“The church structure is somewhat old, but it has undergone past renovations. The same goes for the church’s mezzanine area,” Ayson was quoted as saying by the Philippine News Agency on February 14.
She said that the mezzanine’s floor was made of wood, which might have collapsed due to the large number of churchgoers occupying the area.
“Building officials discovered that a portion of the collapsed structure was also infested with termites,” Ayson told reporters after the assessment.
Meanwhile, Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos told parish priests to examine their respective church buildings following the tragedy.
“City authorities are currently investigating the incident and the parish church is closed until further notice. I have also instructed all parish priests to check their parish structures considering the great number of faithful coming every year to Lenten celebrations,” the bishop said shortly after the accident.
The bishop said in a statement that those affected and their families were being assisted by the parish priest, Father Romulo Perez, and his parochial vicar, Father Divino Cayanan, and by the diocese.
