It was an experience hospitals in Mumbai have been familiar with: a sudden rush of victims of terror. But doctors and paramedics at the the public and private hospitals in south and central Mumbai went about coping with the stress as if it were just another day. The situation at most hospitals on Wednesday evening was chaotic. Victims from the three blast sites were being wheeled in and families from all over the city were searching for their relatives and friends. I had to wait for half an hour as the doctors were not letting me enter the hospital. My son has been admitted to the Harkishandas hospital, said the mother of Snehal Shah,who was injured at Opera House. All the injured have suffered severe burns and their body parts have been crushed, Pravin Shingare,Co-Director of St George Hospital,said. Some of the injured were referred from one hospital to another as a large number of victims from the three blast sites were being brought in as the doctors struggled to attend to those already admitted. My friend Prasanna who works in Zaveri Bazaar suffered severe shoulder injuries and burns, said Kamal Doloyee,28. Prasanna was first taken to GT Hospital and then to JJ Hospital. Seven injured in the explosion near the Dadar Kabootarkhana were rushed to KEM Hospital. Mangeswar Viswakarma,28,a businessman,was brought to KEM Hospital with severe brain and skull injuries. Some of the injured were also taken to Shushrusha Hospital in Dadar,Bhatia Hospital at Tardeo and Bombay Hospital at Marine Lines. Health Minister Suresh Shetty said that five deaths had been confirmed at Saifee Hopsital,four at GT Hospital,five at Harkishandas Hospital and one each at St George and JJ Hospital. One death was also reported from Nair Hospital. About 900 units of blood were kept ready at the JJ Hospital. Shetty also said that the autopsies on the bodies of the dead would be conducted there. More than 60 people from the blast site at Opera House were rushed to the Saifee Hospital on Charni Road. Thirty-seven were admitted and five were kept in the IICU.
