Rescue Teams Conclude Search for Survivors in Hurricane-Hit Derna, Focus on Body Recovery and Health Services

Rescue teams ended their search for survivors in the center of the stricken city of Derna following Hurricane Daniel, while focusing their efforts on searching the depths of the sea and the beaches.

The Libyan National Army stated that the armed forces and Libyan and international rescue and search teams are carrying out search and inspection operations, stressing that the stage now is to recover the bodies.

The Minister of Health in the Libyan government-designate, Othman Abdel Jalil, confirmed that the number of bodies that have been recovered and buried from the city of Derna, east of the country, since the beginning of Hurricane “Daniel” is about 3,600 people, denying the World Health Organization figures that spoke of 11,000.

In his statements to Sky News Arabia, Abdul Jalil, who has been in the disaster-stricken Derna since the first day, stressed the distinction between the deceased and the missing, noting that the exact numbers will be announced soon.

Speaking about the real numbers and current health conditions in the city most affected by the hurricane that struck Libya on September 10, he said:

During the period of their work since the beginning of the crisis, search and rescue men have been able to recover only about 3,600 bodies, while thousands of missing persons remain unaccounted for until now. The statement issued a few days ago by the World Health Organization, claiming that the number of bodies exhumed from Derna exceeded 11,000, was officially denied by the Ministry of Health, and the organization was contacted, which confirmed that it would correct the lapse that occurred in publishing this number. Health services began to improve significantly compared to the first period of the hurricane, due to the continuous arrival of large numbers of medical and non-medical relief teams from inside and outside the country. The Ministry was keen to provide vaccinations against typhoid, measles and hepatitis. This improved the situation on the ground, and the city began to recover, at a time when there was fear of the spread of epidemics after a large number of bodies remained unburied following the hurricane. Regarding health facilities, many of the hospitals in Derna were severely damaged by the hurricane. Therefore, it will be a top priority for the Ministry of Health later for reform and reconstruction.
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2023-09-23 07:46:12