Hub accident: Three men fight for their life at Civil hospital

Doctors say there is little chance of survival.

KARACHI:

At Civil Hospital, Karachi, 26-year-old Muhammad Yasir was trying to persuade the security guards of the Burns Centre to let him go inside so he can take a quick glance at his uncle, Abdul Hafiz.

The Edhi ambulances had brought Hafiz and four other injured men from the Quetta-Karachi highway near Hub, where two buses and two trucks collided in the wee hours of Saturday. The tragic accident occurred near the Gaddani Morr area of Hub Tehsil and claimed the lives of at least 31 people, according to official figures. Edhi sources claimed they received at least 38 bodies in their morgue.

Three of the injured were immediately transferred from the emergency ward to the Burns Centre as they were badly burnt in the fire that broke out in the vehicles after the collision. Three names Abdul Hafiz, Dildar and Ghulam Nabi were roughly written a white paper pasted on the gate of the Burns Centre. The heirs of those who were missing in the accident were closely reading that notice.

“On Friday evening, he [Hafiz] told us over the phone that he is coming by the Azad Dasht coach and will reach Hub in the morning,” recalled Yasir, who lives at Hub Chowki and works as a welder in Hafiz’s shop. Hafiz and his family had gone to Turbat to meet his in-laws. “We tried his phone in the morning after getting the news of the accident but his phone was not responding.”

Hafiz’s mother has been calling again and again to inquire about his condition. “His one-year-old son and wife would have died in the accident because their names are not on the list and we don’t know where they are,” sobbed Yasir. “My brother has gone the Edhi cold storage to look for them.”

Meanwhile, Aman’s family were also waiting outside the Burns Centre. “He spoke to us at night and told us that he is on his way to Karachi,” said Gulab, a resident of Lyari. Aman’s five other relatives were also travelling with him from Turbat and are missing since the accident.

The family is reluctant to accept what may have happened to them. “I have seen the vehicles in horrible condition and they are totally burnt,” Muhammad Amin, a resident of Hub Chowki, told Gulab. “There are no chances of survival but all we can do is hope.”

The Burns Centre in-charge, Dr Ehmer al Ibran, told The Express Tribune that they received three injured men, Abdul Hafiz, Dildar and Ghulam Nabi, at around 8am. “All the three men have deep injures and are in serious conditions,” he said. “Their respiratory tracts are also affected which is why their chances of survival are low.”

The patient will need long-term treatment and intensive care because there are high chances of infection, he added. Dr al Ibran informed that Hafiz has suffered 85 per cent burns, Nabi 83 per cent while Dildar has suffered from 100 per cent burns and has been put on ventilator. Dildar was later shifted to Patel Hospital.

Burns become life-threatening after 35 to 40 per cent and even patients with 15 per cent burns have to be admitted at a hospital, explained Dr al Ibran. “These patients have over 80 per cent burns that put their lives in danger.”

Meanwhile, the chief casualty medical officer at Civil hospital, Dr Nighat Fatima, told The Express Tribune that they received a total of five injured people, three of whom were sent to the Burns Centre while two others — Usama and Hafiz Kaleemullah — had fractures on their hands and legs and were given treatment. Their condition is stable now and were discharged later, she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2014.