|
|
|
| October 20, 2007 | Saturday | Shawwal 7, 1428 |
KARACHI: Victims still in need of hospital treatment
KARACHI, Oct 19: As many as 120 dead bodies and 361 injured persons were brought to five major government and private hospitals as a result of the twin bomb blasts targeting former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s caravan on Friday midnight, said hospital sources.
More than half of the injured patients were released by 1pm on Friday, while six of the in-house patients succumbed to their injuries at three of the hospitals in question.
A few of the injured participants of the procession were seen waiting in the accidents and emergency sections for treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) in the afternoon as well. Persons accompanying the injured said the affected persons thought it better to return to their respective homes after the incident and were now coming to hospital considering the severity of their injuries.
At a private hospital injured persons were seen waiting for proper medical help even after a lapse of 14 hours. “They are not attending to us here perhaps due to the absence of a caretaker or for want of money,” said a young party worker, adding that the government or the PPP should look into the matter. Among the identified deceased persons there were at least three women and three children of ages ranging from one to 12. Half of the dead bodies remained unidentified and were sent to the Edhi mortuary at Sohrab Goth, a source said.
“Most of the injuries were on the upper torso, upper limbs and chest, while there are also plenty of cases of limb fractures, trauma and burns. Most of the patients are stable now,” said a source.
According to data gathered by Dawn from hospitals, in all 53 dead bodies were brought to the JPMC, out of which 27 could not be identified. The number of injured people who reported to the hospital was recorded as 166 till 3pm on Friday, while four of them died at hospital.
Dr Seemin Jamali, a deputy director and in-charge of the accident and emergency centre at the JPMC, said that it was for the first time that the doctors and nurses experienced such a heavy rush of patients, besides having so many mutilated dead bodies at the hospital in the gap of an hour.
Dr Hamid Zaheer, Medical Superintendent of the city government-run Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, told Dawn that dead bodies and injured patients from the blast were brought to the hospital from 12.45am to 5am on Friday.
“We received four dead bodies and 25 injured persons at the hospital and performed laparotomy (cutting into the abdominal cavity) on three of them,” he added, saying that seven of the injured patients were still admitted to the hospital and were stable.
He said that the hospital did not need any blood donations for the blast-affected people.
Tariq Kamal Ayubi, in-charge of the CHK’s casualty section told Dawn that a 12-year-old boy, Sanaullah, son of Meherullah of Mochko Goth, who was injured severely due to the blasts, could not be saved despite best efforts by the doctors.
In all the CHK received 58 patients till 3 pm, out of which 17 are still admitted there and are in stable condition. The hospital received 28 bodies, including that of a woman, out of which 14 were identified.
The Aga Khan University Hospital received one dead body and 33 other blast-affected people, including Begum Abida Hussain, who was standing atop Ms Bhutto’s vehicle at the time of the blast.
Begum Abida as well as 16 injured people had been discharged by 3am on Friday after first aid, while the remaining people are admitted as in-house patients, said a source.
According to data compiled by the Liaquat National Hospital, of the 34 dead bodies brought to the hospital after the carnage, only three -- all male -- could be identified at the hospital. The unidentified bodies included one each of a boy and a woman.
One of the admitted patients died at the hospital, while 18 of the injured patients were discharged after initial treatment.
Meanwhile, as many as 28 injured people were brought to the Pakistan Navy’s hospital PNS Shifa, said an ISPR (Navy) press release.
Three of them were discharged after being given first aid, while 25 people were admitted, out of which six were said to be in critical condition.
|
|
|
|
