At the coast, the Peruvian Army garrison in the town began to bombard the Chilean ship. A grenade reached her, killing three men. Prat ordered the warship to move, slowly maneuvering at scarcely 4 knots, for her engine was defective and one the boilers had burst. He stopped 1,000 m from the city and 250 m from land, where they would stand until their sinking. This move allowed Grau to see the absence of the torpedoes that supposedly filled "Esmeralda". One of "Huáscar"s shots hit directly on board, beheading the ordering bugler and mutilating the gun crews. The position of "Esmeralda" was desperate.