MANILA, Philippines -- The Oktoberfest beer party in Ortigas Friday night ended with a bang but downed 20 crewmen soon after following an accidental electrocution as workers dismantled the stages and barricades that had enclosed the concert area.

The Mandaluyong police reported that 20 crew members of Stagetek Co. were injured around 9 a.m. Saturday when they accidentally touched a high-tension wire, high-voltage electric cable.

The Stagetek crewmen were tasked to take down the tents and barricades which formed the venue of Friday night’s San Miguel Oktoberfest kick-off along San Miguel Avenue.

Senior Superintendent Carlos de Sagun, Mandaluyong chief of police, said that the men were dismantling the tent roofs when they accidentally touched the main live wire of Meralco which electrocuted several of them.

He said the accident was aggravated by the rain earlier in the morning but he denied radio and television reports that one worker died in the accident.

Three of the crewmen, Mariano Lanyuhan, Arman Ancheta, and Jonathan Divino who had suffered serious electrical burns, were treated at the Medical City.

De Sagun said Stagetek should have planned their dismantling operations well so as not to endanger its workers. He said the company should have foreseen that the Meralco wires might be affected.

The others crew members who suffered minor injuries were identified as: Chester Olaybal, Rodel Bautista, Mario Mella, Jeffrey Bulic, Benjie Felizardo, Romulo Avilla, Elyson Bagamasbad, Jeffrey Zabala, Jomar Ignacio, Ramil Panganiban, Christopher Grabillo, Onisimo Grabillo Jr., Johnry Solmeo, Jerick Sandagon, Roderick Vergara, Walter Grimalt, and Buenaventura Ferrer.

They were treated at the Medical City and Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City.

Buddy Lopa of Events Circuit, the third party agency hired by San Miguel Corp. to handle the Oktoberfest event, clarified that Stagetek employed all precautions in their operations and that what happened was a "freak accident."

“It was purely a freak accident. There were no miscalculations. [Stagetek] was aware of the vertical hazards and they had precautionary measures. Sometimes even the best laid-out plans could still have accidents,” said Lopa.

Events Circuit was the one that hired Stagetek to put up the stage and dismantle the set-up afterwards.

Lopa said Stagetek was one of the top stage-rigging companies in Manila and that they have been putting up and taking down stages for a long time.