Serial bomb blasts in north-east India: A postmortem study.

Terrorism has become a global phenomenon and most of the countries, whether developed or developing, are facing terror activities. Recently the terror activities have become a regular feature in India where more than 15 major terrorist strikes occurred from 2008 to 2010. Assam, the gateway of northeast India, on 30th October 2008 witnessed a strategically planned terrorist multiple consequential serial bomb blast attack where more than 13 bombs were exploded within a span of merely 10-20 minutes. The news on the next day indicated the initial death of 66 persons; and 470 sustained minor to severe injuries during the explosions in different places. Out of these ultimately 90 persons had died, which was the highest mortality in any blast in the Assam till that date. The dead bodies of 56 victims were brought to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital mortuary for postmortem examination. During autopsy apart from the demographic data collected on interaction with police, relatives of the victims and inquest papers of every victim, the postmortem findings were recorded in details and the difficulties faced in the management of this disaster in mortuary will be discussed in this paper.

Caer en la trampa: el accidente por mina antipersonal: la experiencia de los sobrevivientes, Antioquia, Colombia, 2007 / Caught in the trap: survivors’ experiences after landmine accidents, Antioquia, Colombia, 2007

Objetivo: este artículo es el resultado parcial de una investigación llevada a cabo en el contexto de la formación en una maestría en el área de la salud colectiva, cuyo propósito fue interpretar el proceso de integración a la vida cotidiana de los sobrevivientes a accidentes por mina antipersonal, a través de sus relatos para la reconstrucción de experiencias. Metodología: el estudio se hizo con un abordaje metodológico cualitativo etnográfico particularista y focalizado; como técnicas para recolectar la información se utilizaron la entrevista semiestructurada a cuatro participantes y la observación durante la misma. Resultados: en esta publicación se muestra la categoría caer en la trampa, en respuesta a la pregunta ¿cuál es la experiencia con el accidente de los sobrevivientes de minas antipersonal?, que describe el momento de la explosión e incluye el lugar donde sucedió, la actividad que realizaban en ese momento, el objeto con el que fueron heridos, los daños y las sensaciones que les produjo tanto a sí mismos como a sus acompañantes. Conclusiones: la educación en el riesgo de minas es una estrategia adecuada para asegurar que las personas y comunidades se sensibilicen sobre los riesgos, reduciéndolos a un nivel en el que puedan recrear un entorno libre de las limitaciones impuestas por su presencia.

Objective: This report is the partial result of a survey carried out with the purpose of interpreting the process of reintegration to daily life of survivors after landmine accidents, through their testimonies when they recall their experiences.Methodology: A qualitative methodological approach and an ethnographic particularistic focus were employed.The techniques for gathering information were semis tructured interviews to four participants, and observations during them.Results: This paper shows the category caught in the trap in response to the question: How is the experience of landmine accidents survivors? It describes the moment and place of the blast, the activity that was being carried out, the object responsible for the injuries, the harm caused, and the sensations of the survivors and their companions.Conclusions: Education on the risk of landmines is an adequate strategy to make communities and persons aware of the dangers posed by those artifacts.Consequently, the possibility arises to reduce such dangers to levels consistent with the recreation of milieus free from the restrictions imposed by the presence of landmines.

Homicidal deaths and injuries by bomb blasts in Dera Ismail Khan

Bombs are explosive devices used for homicidal purposes. The present study was conducted to know about the death and injuries due to bomb blasts in Dera Ismail Khan. This descriptive study was conducted from January 2007 to December 2008. The data was collected from autopsy and medico-legal records of all dead and injured persons at DHQ Teaching Hospital and Department of Forensic Medicine Gomal Medical College, D. I. Khan. Three hundred and forty-one un-natural deaths were reported and subjected to autopsy examination during the study period. Homicidal deaths constituted 256 [75%] of all autopsies. Out of homicidal deaths 82 [32.96%] were caused by blast injuries. Similarly 2153 injured persons were examined and recorded in the medico-legal register. Out of whom 253 [11.75%] were due to bomb blasts. In death cases, 461 injuries were found in various body regions giving an average of 5.62 injuries per person, and in injured person the number of injuries was 659, with average of 2.6 injuries per person. Lower extremities sustained the highest number of injuries both in dead and injured ones, followed by the head and neck injuries in dead and upper extremity injuries in the injured ones. Death due to bomb blasts are the second major cause of homicidal deaths after firearm in Dera Ismail Khan. Lower extremity injuries are the commonest in both dead and injured persons, followed by the head and neck injuries in dead and upper extremity injuries in the injured ones

Respuesta de un hospital universitario ante un atentado por explosivos / Universitary hospital response before a terrorist bomb attack

En julio de 1994, un atentado por explosivos hizo colapsar el edificio de concreto de 8 plantas de la Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA). Se produjeron 264 víctimas, 86 fatales, 2 desaparecidos y 176 heridos. Al Hospital de Clínicas llegaron 84 víctimas o sea el 45,4 por ciento de los que requirieron asistencia médica. Se internaron 40, y el 25 por ciento (20/80) cumplieron con los criterios de trauma mayor, con una mortalidad del 25 por ciento (5/20), 3 por traumatismos severos de abdomen y 2 por síndromes por aplastamiento. La sobrecategorización fue del 50 por ciento para los internados y del 73,2 por ciento del total de asistidos. Se discuten los efectos que produjo la explosión, el manejo hospitalario del desastre, así como los patrones lesionales y la severidad de las lesiones. Se investigó la ubicación de las víctimas hospitalizadas al momento de la explosión y se la correlacionó con la distancia al epicentro, el nivel de protección y la gravedad de las lesiones. Consideramos de importancia la organización de un plan de emergencia hospitalaria, donde se describen las funciones de cada miembro del hospital, en la prevención y mitigación y en la acción, para desastres internos y externos.