Wasted and wounded
From The Sydney Morning Herald:
The Australian toll: Confirmed deaths - 30; Missing - 180; Injured - 113
Prime Minister John Howard supported the opposition’s proposal that next Sunday be declared a national day of mourning, as details on events and specific opportunities to express grief on the day were prepared.
“We labelled patients, X, Y or Z whatever because we didn’t have names or information. Most were burns but we also had a cervical fracture, we had a basic skull fracture, we had people who needed ventilating, intubating. All states. We had people who needed amputations…” (Dr Grahame Southwick, a plastic surgeon holidaying in Bali).
A woman severely burnt in the Bali explosions died today in a Perth hospital. A Royal Perth Hospital doctor said the burns unit team’s hearts went out to the family of the woman, whose name has not been released.
The Australian Defence Force has delivered five refrigeration units to Bali to store the bodies of those killed in the weekend bomb blasts.
Australian Embassy official Kirk Coningham said 196 Australians had been evacuated with injuries suffered in Saturday’s bombing, 16 of them in critical condition and 40 more on stretchers. Australia had also offered to evacuate injured Indonesians to Australia for treatment…
The Alfred [Hospital’s] head of trauma surgery, Thomas Kossmann, said they were expecting patients with burns to between 15 and 50 per cent of their bodies, shrapnel wounds and injuries to the hands.
The last time Mr Salvatori saw his 38-year-old wife alive was at a birthday dinner on Saturday night, before she and other women in the group decided to head into town for a night of dancing and celebration. But instead of helping Kathy celebrate her own birthday yesterday he discovered her body in a Bali morgue, a few hours after putting his daughters on a plane back to Australia.
The following countries have reported nationals to be either dead, wounded or missing: Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States.
More than 60 patients - including five Germans, two English, a Canadian, a Swede, a South African and a New Zealander - arrived from Denpasar aboard five Hercules flights yesterday in fewer than 12 hours. Two of the first 15 arrivals died.
The injured Canadian is Chris Kovacs’ friend, Rick Gleason. I’m happy and relieved that someone closely connected to Chris has survived. And immensely saddened at the pointless suffering and loss of life.
I tried to write a posting on this half a dozen times, but can't find the words. Especially when I look at the faces of the victims. All I can do is grab that one fact, that one bit of hope -- Chris' friend.
And I am so ashamed of my country's president and his insistence on 'leading' the effort to fight terrorism -- saying this to a country in deep mourning.
I am so sorry.
Posted by: Burningbird on 16 October 2002 at 12:34 AM