Back on their feet: 14 Quetta blast survivors discharged

The Air Force had airlifted 35 critically wounded survivors from Quetta to Karachi.

KARACHI:

At least 14 of the 35 people who had been brought to Karachi after being critically wounded in the twin blasts at Quetta’s Alamdar Road on January 9, were discharged on Friday. The remaining 21 patients were said to be in a stable condition, said provincial government officials. The patients and their attendants also expressed satisfaction with the quality of treatment they had been provided.

The twin blasts had left around 102 people dead, and over 200 injured in the incident that has been dubbed the bloodiest in the Quetta’s history. The Pakistan Air Force had airlifted 35 survivors to Karachi within hours of the blasts. They had been shifted to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), and the Liaquat National Hospital. The government had also put the Dow University of Health Sciences Ojha Campus on standby for receiving more victims.

While the prime minister had announced that the government would bear all costs for the treatment of the blast survivors, some of the injured who were brought to Karachi for treatment appeared distressed about being out of work and, therefore, being unable to earn for their families.



“I am glad that I received quality treatment at a reduced cost here,” said Sajjad Hussain, a 26-year-old motorcycle mechanic who was wounded in the second blast after he had rushed to help the victims of the first explosion. However, Hussain said that his family was facing financial hardships as he was not working anymore.

However, the city’s executive district health officer, Dr Imdadullah Siddiqui, said that the Sindh government was providing financial assistance to the blast survivors who had been brought to Karachi. “The wounded were provided with the best possible medical facility in the province,” Dr Siddiqui told The Express Tribune in a phone interview on Friday.

Haroon Khan, a first year pre-medical student, said that he was wounded in the second blast. “Like other people, I started running when I heard the [first] blast, but as soon as I reached an open space, the second blast took place. There was smoke everywhere,” said Khan, thanking God and the government that he had recovered from his injuries.

Four of the blast survivors are currently under treatment at Liaquat National Hospital, while another 14 are at AKUH.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2013.