CEBU CITY -- An unregistered banca that carried 40 Sto. Niño devotees and a crew of four capsized off a private wharf in Mandaue City, marring an otherwise smooth fluvial procession Saturday.

Authorities blamed a passenger who lit a firecracker aboard the motorized banca Kenneth and Kyle as the flotilla cruised in the Mactan Channel.

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The firecracker accidentally landed on the boat's starboard or right side near its engine, leaving a crack 10 inches in diameter on its plyboard, the Coast Guard (CG) said.

Commander Antonio Cuasito, CG District Central Eastern Visayas chief of staff, said the passengers panicked after seawater rushed through the breach and caused the vessel to capsize in less than five minutes.

It is the second straight year that a craft capsized during the fluvial procession.

Last year, sea marshals rescued 18 passengers, including a two-year-old girl, after the wooden hull of their banca broke.

No one was injured

Cuasito believes the damage in Saturday's accident was caused by an oversized firecracker and not merely by the kind legally permitted by authorities.

Sea marshals and CG civilian auxiliary members on rubber boats near the scene quickly rescued the passengers, most of them failed to don life vests, and four boat crewmembers.

The victims were then transferred to boats and other motorbancas that ferried them safely to the Ouano wharf.

The damaged boat was towed to Barangay Looc, Mandaue City.

Among the rescued crewmembers was boat operator Gerry Econas of San Vicente, Lapu-Lapu City, who acted as the skipper, Cuasito said.

Dream replaced

The 15-gross-ton seacraft was among the vessels that composed the fluvial parade's third division.

The flotilla, led by a "galleon" that carried the Señor Sto. Niño's image, was already cruising in the Mactan Channel for Cebu City and had just passed by Mandaue's reclamation project when news about the mishap broke out past 8 a.m.

The fluvial procession, an annual activity that also commemorates the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu in 1521, continues to attract thousands of devotees.

In its investigation, the CG found out that Econas used mb Kenneth and Kyle instead of mb Filipino Dream, his other seacraft that was officially registered as a participant.

Cuasito believed the capsized banca had no life vests on board, as it was unregistered at the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)-Central Visayas.

The vessel was also carrying more than its authorized passenger capacity of only 20 to 25 persons, based on its gross weight, Cuasito said.

Regulations

The Mandaue City CG detachment has already issued a Maritime violation report that will be forwarded to the Marina for appropriate action.

Cuasito lamented that participants continued to defy Coast Guard safety regulations, particularly against overloading and bringing of firecrackers and alcohol in vessels.

He said the CG has not been remiss in its job because all boat operators were reminded about maritime regulations during meetings prior to the event.

The CG registered only 93 vessels as official participants in the procession Saturday. Over 100 eventually participated, including latecomers and non-registered craft.

Mix-ups were noted when motorized boats tried to overtake the lead pack, which was composed of big vessels, upon reaching the Cebu International Port area.

Despite this, a low-flying private light aircraft and two Air Force choppers that showered confetti and petals on the flotilla added color to the affair.

Happy noise

Thousands of devotees lined up on ports, private wharves and even the Mactan Mandaue Bridge, waving as the vessels pass by.

They released colorful balloons and greeted the Holy Child with fireworks, drumbeats, and shouts of "Viva Señor Santo Niño" and "Pit Señor!"

Ships also blared their horns.

Although the fluvial parade left Ouano wharf around 7:30 a.m., or half an hour late, it still arrived on schedule at Pier 1 in Cebu City at 9 a.m.

Before the banca accident, events leading up to the procession proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Thousands sent off the Sto. Niño de Cebu and Our Lady of Guadalupe images, signaling the end of the "translacion" activity in Mandaue City.

"Grabe ang presensya sa mga tawo ug nakita gyud nato ang ilang mga panaad (A huge crowd turned up, which was a testament to the people's devotion)," said Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.

He said the number of people was more than twice the number of last year's crowd.

Send-off

Mandaue City Police Office Acting Director Orlando Ualat said more than 20,000 devotees joined the 4 a.m. mass celebrated by assistant parish priest Eduardo Caboga at the National Shrine of St. Joseph.

After the mass, the images were placed in separate carrozas for a two-kilometer procession toward Ouano Wharf in Barangay Looc.

At the wharf, the images were briefly ushered into the house of Ernesto Ouano Jr. before being brought to his private yacht for the fluvial parade.

Cortes promised to hold the same activity with just minor changes next year.

He said buntings and flags will decorate roadsides without being dangled across streets, after the images atop the carrozas got snagged in some of the decorations Saturday.

The mayor will also regulate the use of balloons and party poppers, as the strings and ribbons got entangled with the high-tension wires, causing electrical sparks. (GC/OCP/Sun.Star Cebu)