Unattributed photo of the fire and explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan that’s distributed via Reuters.
Armenia/Azerbaijan: Ambulances, medical supplies are being sent to assist victims of explosion – more help needed
by the International Committee of the Red Cross / Red Crescent
Hundreds of burn victims of an explosion at a fuel depot are in urgent need of specialized medical care. Teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are delivering medical supplies and helping to arrange medical evacuation by ambulance.
Hospitals in the region were already over capacity even before the influx of patients from the explosion, making the situation for patients and medical staff extra-critical.
“This is an absolute tragedy for hundreds of people now suffering from horrific, painful burns,” said Ariane Bauer, the ICRC’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia. “The crisis is compounded by the fact that hospitals were already running over capacity and that heavy traffic makes it difficult to move ambulances and medical supplies in and out.”
The ICRC delivered dressing kits and a specialized burn dressing kit following the incident. An ICRC medical team is on site assisting with the medical response. More medical supplies necessary for the treatment of severe burn cases are in the process of being delivered.
The ICRC is working with decision makers in the region to find solutions to increase the number of medical evacuations.
Finding solutions to these urgent medical needs is in line with the obligation of all parties under international humanitarian law to ensure that the wounded and sick receive, with the least possible delay, the medical care required by their condition.
Even before the explosion, the ICRC had identified 60 critically wounded patients who needed to be evacuated from the central hospital. Twenty-three of those patients were evacuated on Sunday; plans to evacuate the others have been made more difficult by the critical needs from the explosion.
About the ICRC: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
For more information contact:
Fatima Sator, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 79 848 4908, fsator@icrc.org
Ilaha Huseynova, ICRC Baku, tel : +99450 316 00 24, ihuseynova@icrc.org
Zara Amatuni, ICRC Yerevan, tel: +374 99 011 360, zamatuni@icrc.org
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