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| October 11, 2005 | Tuesday | Ramzan 6, 1426 |
Over 2,000 injured shifted to Pindi
RAWALPINDI, Oct 10: More than 2,000 injured people have been evacuated to hospitals in Rawalpindi from the earthquake-hit areas of Azad Kashmir in the past two days, hospital sources told Dawn on Monday.
Most of the injured had multiple bone fractures and head injuries and were airlifted from Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot and Bagh, the worst affected districts of Azad Kashmir.
Of the injured brought so far 350 have been admitted in the Rawalpindi General Hospital, 151 in the District Headquarters Hospital, 260 in the Holy Family Hospital, 1,100 in the Combined Military Hospital and 200 in the Fauji Foundation Hospital.
Most of the injured had multiple bone fractures or head injuries and are from Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot and Bagh.
Surgeon Rehan Masood at the Fauji Foundation hospital while talking to this reporter said most of the patients had bad injuries some of them with amputation.
Dr Raja Khalid, spokesman for Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) told Dawn that the quake victims with head injuries were shifted to the DHQ Hospital.
Akhtar, an injured from Bagh, who lost his three year old daughter and 23-year-old brother in the quake, told Dawn that 90 per cent of buildings in Bagh had been razed to ground.
“Thousands are still trapped under the rubble, rescue efforts are insufficient and Azad Kashmir government has collapsed because of widespread devastation,” said Akhtar.
Maqbool, a woman with leg fracture, from Bagh said her relatives managed ambulance for her. People are still without food and shelter in the area, she added.
Patients said that they were satisfied with the treatment they were getting in the hospital. They had no problems here and doctors were very cooperative, patients said.
CMO of RGH Dr Farhat said the cooperation of common man was remarkable. Plenty of blood is available for the injured and it is precious to save the lives of patients, he continued.
As many as 260 patients with fractured arms, legs and head injuries were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, spokesman for the hospital told Dawn, adding that many were severely injured.
Dr Amjad of District Headquarters Hospital said that 151 patients from various parts of Azad Kashmir were admitted in the hospital, adding that some were referred from other hospitals for the treatment of head injuries.
During the visit to different hospitals, patients and their relatives told harrowing stories about the devastation the earthquake caused in various parts of Azad Kashmir.
Syed Barkat Hussain from Muzzafarabad, whose eight-year-old daughter, Sana Batool, with head injuries was brought to the hospital, said that he had lost his 38 relatives including two daughters. Now he had only one daughter — Sana.
He said the quake flattened almost 80 per cent buildings of the city and added that thousands were still trapped under the rubble.
There were no proper arrangements for the burial of dead, Barkat said.
Mohammad Khursheed from Rawalakot, with fractured leg, said that the whole district was razed to the ground. The injured could not get even the first aid as hospitals there also were flattened, he added.
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