Kishtwar cloudburst: 75 victims admitted in GMC Jammu; one dies, 4 still critical

Jammu: In the aftermath of a massive cloudburst in Kishtwar district, a total of 75 patients were admitted in the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital here and one of them succumbed to injuries during treatment, while the condition of four others continues to be "critical". In addition, 11 bodies of the victims and one body part were also brought to the hospital mortuary from the cloudburst-hit Chisoti village and they were subsequently handed over to their next of kin after completion of medical formalities, official data released by the hospital said on Sunday.

The cloudburst struck Chisoti, the last motorable village en route the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, leaving 61 persons – mostly devotees – dead, over 100 injured and 50 others missing. According to the data, the GMC operated 24 of the 75 patients and one of them, Ashok Kumar (35) of Vijaypur area of Samba district, died on August 16. Among the 47 patients still admitted in the hospital, four are in critical condition, the hospital said, adding 20 patients were discharged, three absconded and four others left the hospital against medical advice.

It said 54 of the patients were adults and 21 minors, while the highest number of 50 patients were from Jammu followed by six each from Samba, Kishtwar and Udhampur, three from Reasi district and one from Doda besides two from Uttar Pradesh and one from Chandigarh.

Of the 11 bodies received by the hospital, seven were from Jammu, one each from Samba and Rajouri in J&K and one each from Jharkhand and Odisha. Lauding the untiring efforts of his team, GMC Principal Ashutosh Gupta said the entire staff swung into action as soon as the ambulances started arriving at the hospital complex on Thursday night. “Without losing even a minute, the porters and helpers took the patient trolleys to the triage room where the medical teams immediately started providing medical support and treatment. There was no time to lose, split second decisions were taken,” he said.

He said the nursing staff not only provided excellent nursing care but also were sisters, mothers, friends of those who suffered mental and physical trauma.

“The GMC team ensured that there was no need to refer even a single patient to any other higher institute for want of medical expertise,” the principal said.

He said the GMC administration not only ensured highest quality medical care, but also ensured a clean and hygienic and friendly environment for patients and their accompanying family members.

“There were many patients who were loaded with dust, mud in addition to their injuries. The nursing staff did commendable efforts to clean them up, gave clean clothes, nursed their wounds and also gave them emotional support.

“There were many who were brought alone, there were scared children, there were those who had lost their dear ones. The nursing staff adopted them like their own. One could see a staff nurse personally feeding a scared injured child, sponging a boy who was all covered in debris,” Gupta said.