Emergency situation: LRH copes with Mattani blast victims

Doctors say they have adequate stock of medicines to provide free treatment.

PESHAWAR:

“I don’t need treatment, just let me know how my brother is,” said Rukhsana, a survivor of the Mattani blast while inquiring about her brother’s health. Rukhsana herself was injured and being provided with first aid at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH).

Saturday’s explosion was the third major blast in the densely populated Mattani market where not only local residents, but also people from nearby villages including Maryamzai, Adezai, Sherkera, Yousafkhel along with a large number of Afghan refugees come to earn their livelihood.

Rukhsana, 29, her brother Tariq, 20, and 17 other passengers aboard a Sherkera bound passenger vehicle came under attack when a blast ripped through the van as it passed through Mattani market at around 3:20pm. At least nine people were killed while several others were injured.

Since LRH is one of the province’s well-equipped hospitals, 10 injured persons including three females were shifted there by Mattani residents before rescue teams arrived at the scene.

Tariq was injured after ball bearings struck him on his head and hand. He escaped serious injuries to his skull, but the ball bearings were visible in an x-ray of his left hand. He was surrounded by a group of doctors who were providing him with medical assistance.

Director of the Accident and Emergency Centre Doctor Shiraz Qayum Afridi said Tariq’s health was satisfactory, but cautioned he would have to be admitted to the hospital for further treatment. Afridi added two others injured in the blast were in serious condition. “We have declared an emergency situation. All paramedics are present here and providing the injured with medical assistance,” he said, adding all those wounded in the incident would be provided free treatment since LRH had a sufficient stock of medicines.

One injured person later succumbed to his injuries and breathed his last at the LRH. Nine bodies were handed over to their relatives and transported to their respective villages.

In addition to volunteers who shifted the injured persons and bodies to the hospital, a number of Mattani village residents also rushed to the LRH to donate blood.

Mattani, a village situated on Akakhel’s border with Khyber Agency towards its north and Darra Adam Khel of Frontier Region Kohat at its south, is hardly a 20-minute drive from the provincial capital and has been the site for a series of blasts since 2009.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2013.