April 15, 2013.
FILIPINO runners were among the participants of the 2013 Boston Marathon in the US that was rocked by explosions near the finish line.
“I finished around 3 hours and 7 minute mark, an hour ahead of the bomb, I reached the finish line. I was in the area, but where the bomb went off it was exactly as I crossed the line. If the bomb went off earlier, it would’ve gotten into me,” New Jersey-based Filipino triathlon athlete Arland Macasieb said.
“I guess we were lucky that we crossed the finish line a few minutes before the explosion happened. We were maybe two or three blocks away from the explosion,” said another Filipino Lieca Carpo, runner from New Jersey.
Macasieb and Carpo were among the thousands of runners from different states and countries who joined the marathon.
Three persons were killed including an eight-year-old boy while 170 were reported injured from the scene, cable news network CNN said. On April 19, one suspect was killed in a shootout with police.
Police have not given official statements on the casualty count, the nature of the explosions and the persons possibly behind them. It is suspected that terrorists were responsible for the bombing.
The Philippine flag was seen flying in CNN reports just as the explosions were captured on video near the finish line. (ABS-CBNnews.com)