MSF Sees 70 Patients After Gas Explosion In Kabul

Around 4 p.m., an explosion at a liquid gas reservoir in Paktia Kot triggered a massive fire that injured scores of people.

“We heard the first explosion very clearly, and then several more after that, and immediately started preparing for patients arriving,” says Jamale Chedrawi, MSF Project Coordinator in Ahmed Shah Baba Hospital. “It all went very quickly as wounded people started coming to the hospital en masse, the first one just 20 minutes after the explosion.”

In total, 70 wounded patients arrived at the hospital. One was dead on arrival, while 32 suffered from severe burns and were treated in the emergency room. Some patients also suffered fractures from jumping out of buildings to escape the fire.

Photo:An MSF nurse changes a patient’s wound dressing in Ahmed Shah Baba Hospital in eastern Kabul. The hospital’s ER received 70 patients yesterday after a nearby gas explosion triggered a massive fire.

Afghanistan October 2010 Kate Ribet