Balochistan earthquake: Four survivors receive medical aid at CHK

Patients were brought to the city by Edhi Foundation’s ambulances on Wednesday .


A female survivor of the Balochistan earthquakes undergoes MRI at Civil hospital. Four patients have been brought into the facility. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

KARACHI: Four survivors of the earthquake in Balochistan, which has claimed the lives of 328 people according to official records, have been brought to Karachi and are under treatment at the Civil Hospital, Karachi (CHK), The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday.

Two men and two women from Awaran, the district most affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, were brought to the city by the Edhi Foundation’s ambulances on Wednesday.

CHK Medical Superintendent Saeed Quraishi, confirming the arrival of the patients, told The Express Tribune that they were in a stable condition. “All four are adults and most of them are facing minor injuries. One of the men, however, is facing an acute abdomen injury and will require surgery,” he said, adding that the patients were still traumatised from experiencing the earthquake.

Apart from CHK, no other hospital has so far confirmed receiving injured survivors of the earthquake. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, however, has directed the officials of the health department to extend assistance for treatments of the survivors. A statement issued by the Governor House on Wednesday said that Khan spoke with the Balochistan Governor on the possible steps for providing relief.

Dr Seemin Jamali of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre said that while no victim had been brought to their hospital, they were willing to offer their medical services. “We have been given orders to look after any survivor who is brought from the affected areas. In the hour of need, we will offer our services to anyone who requires them.”

Meanwhile, the Edhi Foundation’s spokesperson, Anwar Kazmi, said that they were willing to bring in more injured people to Karachi if required.

According to him, rescue workers were facing difficulty in carrying out relief work in the affected areas as the villages were scattered and mobile phones were not working in certain areas. “The injured were being taken to hospitals in Khuzdar,” he said, adding that Abdul Sattar Edhi came to visit the victims and distributed cheques among them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2013.

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