| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Australian medical staff bracing for influx of injured |
| 2005-10-02 |
| AUSTRALIAN medical specialists are bracing for an influx of patients with horrific injuries including shrapnel wounds after the latest terrorist attacks in Bali. The bombs sprayed objects such as ball-bearings through three packed restaurants at two locations popular with tourists on the Indonesian resort island Three Australians were among at least 25 people killed in the attacks. At least another 100 were injured, including 17 Australians. Members of the Australian medical response team, the Australian Health Disaster Medicine Planning Committee, met today in Canberra. Included in the meeting were the federal government's chief medical officer John Horvath, the federal Health Department's deputy secretary Mary Murnane and state and territory health chiefs. A spokeswoman for Professor Horvath said all states and territories had offered assistance and were waiting to hear back from the Department of Foreign Affairs. At least two Australians were evacuated to Singapore for emergency medical treatment and hospitals in Darwin and Perth were on stand-by for patients. An international medical assistance company, International SOS, said it was evacuating 10 victims to Singapore for emergency treatment but would not give any details. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer pledged to send an emergency response team from Australia to Bali as soon as possible to help treat victims of the bombings. He said seriously injured Indonesians also could be evacuated to Australia for further medical treatment. Prime Minister John Howard said victim-identification specialists already in the region were on their way to Bali. Australia also had offered full medical evacuation to victims regardless of nationality, he said. "We have arranged medical evacuation for three Australians," he said, adding two would be taken to Singapore and the third to Perth or Darwin. Northern Territory chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said Darwin would be the first port of call for injured Australians. The first evacuees were expected to arrive in Darwin early tomorrow morning (AEST). "Our preliminary information is that there are a large number of injuries, there are (many) serious injuries, but also they are being well dealt with in the Indonesian medical system," Dr Weeramanthri said. He said the Australian Defence Force medical team would soon arrive in Bali to make an assessment of the situation. Meanwhile, Qantas will send a plane carrying 40 of the airline's medical and security staff to assist those stranded in Bali. Australian Federal Police officers, consular officials and staff from CARE Australia also will be onboard, along with an eight-member NRMA CareFlight medical team. The 230-seat plane will leave Sydney for Denpasar at 5pm (AEST) today and return with any Australians wishing to leave Bali at 5.15am tomorrow. |
| Posted by:God Save The World |
| #1 Ball bearings. Were they coated with anti-coagulant rat poison, too? That's the way the Palestinians like to do it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-02 14:43 |