Lebanon yesterday observed a day of national mourning the day after the explosion of a gasoline tank on Saturday in Akkar, which left at least 29 dead, a new charred body having been discovered yesterday by the army and the rescuers of the Red Cross. According to a report from the Ministry of Health, this incident left 80 injured among those who were desperately seeking fuel after the army raided a tank in the town of Tleil. These wounded are distributed between al-Salam hospital in Tripoli and Lebanese Jeitaoui Hospital in Beirut, while several people are still missing. The government hospital Rafic Hariri for its part announced the opening yesterday of its treatment unit for severe burns, with four beds available, quickly occupied by two wounded from Akkar, including one suffering from burns covering 80% of his body, according to a tweet from the director of the establishment, Firas Abiad.
It is the Lebanese-Jeitaoui Hospital that receives the most difficult cases, with twelve major burns, three of which are in critical condition, according to Professor Pierre Yared, director general of the establishment. The hospital sector, faced with a shortage of drugs and equipment due to the economic crisis, received several donations to be able to continue the treatment of severe burns. “We have received donations of drugs and medical equipment from certain suppliers, from Unicef and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Dr Yared told L’Orient-Le Jour. Other hospitals and individuals have also offered us their support. We have enough to treat the wounded for a week, but any help would be welcome. ”
Dr Nagi Abi Rached, medical director of the hospital, indicates for his part that the most difficult will be to ensure the continuity of treatment in the current context. “People with severe burns need at least eight weeks of treatment with antibiotics, anesthetics, bandages and painkillers,” he warns. These products are difficult to insure in these times of crisis, especially since we do not receive any aid from the State. ”
Injured soon to be evacuated to Kuwait
At al-Salam hospital, where the cases treated are not serious, a source from the medical office assured our correspondent in North Lebanon, Souhaib Jawhar, that much of the necessary medical equipment has been provided, but that the facility is almost out of fuel. “Our stock is only sufficient for a few days,” deplores this manager. We hope that the army will provide us with fuel from the hydrocarbons requisitioned recently. ”
Since last weekend, many countries have rushed to the rescue and offered medical aid to Lebanon. Thus, Egypt announced the dispatch on Sunday of a team of specialized doctors and a ton and a half of medical equipment and drugs. Jordan sent supplies to the Beirut Military Hospital yesterday afternoon. According to the army, two soldiers are dead, eleven other soldiers are in critical condition and four are missing. Four of the injured soldiers were evacuated to Turkey yesterday for treatment. Other wounded soldiers and civilians are expected to be transferred to Kuwait soon, according to an official in the Ministry of Health. “We don’t yet know how many people will be evacuated. We are proceeding in an emergency order and it turns out that the soldiers were the most seriously affected during the explosion, ”said this official to the OLJ.
Earlier in the day, the outgoing Minister of Health, Hamad Hassan, said he feared “to run out of fuel oil, medicines and the material necessary to treat the wounded”, during an interview with the radio Voix du Lebanon.The World Health Organization for its part announced the dispatch in the coming hours of drugs and medical supplies to treat up to 3,000 patients, but also 250 patients suffering from burns.
Families left to fend for themselves
In addition, the families present in the hospitals were completely left to fend for themselves yesterday, reports a source who follows the file closely. “No crisis unit has been set up, no emergency number has been communicated to those looking for their relatives, regrets this source. There are not even names of the injured or the hospitals where they are. It seems we haven’t learned anything from the explosions at the Port of Beirut. Some people spend their time desperately calling hospitals to find their loved ones. I met a mother whose husband is injured and who had to leave her children alone in the village. She doesn’t even have a phone to check in with them. ”
In Akkar, the families of the victims have not yet organized the funeral, some still looking for relatives, others waiting to identify them through DNA tests as the bodies have been charred. In consultation with the dignitaries of the region, the families could organize collective funerals and bury their dead on the same site, according to our correspondent in the region, Michel Hallak. Only one victim, Mohammad Ahmad Khodr, whose family could identify the body, was buried Sunday afternoon in his village of Koueichra.
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Lebanon yesterday observed a day of national mourning the day after the explosion of a gasoline tank on Saturday in Akkar, which left at least 29 dead, a new charred body having been discovered yesterday by the army and the rescuers of the Red Cross. According to a report from the Ministry of Health, this incident left 80 injured among those seeking to …
