TWENTY-eight people were wounded following a stampede inside the gym of Cauayan town, Negros Occidental around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, October 18.

Cauayan Mayor John Rey Tabujara said there were around 5,000 people inside the gym attending the Pantawid Pamilya Day, a program prepared by the municipal government to the beneficiaries of the government's 4Ps program.

Part of the program is the search for Mr. and Ms. Pantawid, he said.

“While a contestant was performing her talent using fire as props, somebody from the crowd shouted “sunog (fire)” that created panic to the people. Everyone tried to get out of the gym that resulted in the injury of 28 people," Tabujara said.

He said he was already outside the gym when the incident happened and that he was surprised to receive a phone call informing him about the stampede.

Tabujara said he already ordered the police to investigate who was the person behind the prank.

He said he personally attended to the needs of those injured at the Cauayan District Hospital and that their medications would be shouldered by the municipal government.

Tabujara said that most of the victims incurred minor injuries except a victim who was trapped and was stepped on by the crowd while trying to get out of the gym.

Tabujara said that he would no longer allow performances with dangerous props such as fire to avoid such incident from happening again. (TDE)