Indian Red Cross responds to Mumbai blasts
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Commuters stand near debris of destroyed roof of railway station platform damaged by a bomb explosion in Mumbai. (REUTERS/ Arko Datta/ courtesy www.alertnet.org). | |
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The city’s suburban train system carries more than six million people each day, making it one of the busiest commuter lines in the world.
The force of the blasts ripped doors and windows off of carriages and threw passengers from trains. Many people suffered severe cuts and burns, while others were in shock.
At the request of the Relief and Rehabilitation Department of the government in Maharastra, local Red Cross volunteers and staff were immediately mobilized to provide first aid to the injured and help take care of incoming patients at the Sion hospital in central Mumbai.
Dozens of trained Red Cross volunteers have been traveling in ambulances between the different train stations hit by the explosions, helping to transport people to hospitals and taking bodies to the city’s mortuaries.
The volunteers have also been working to contact family members of people who were killed or hurt in the blasts.
So far, the Maharastra IRCS state branch has provided 37 units of blood to the Bhava hospital.
The disaster management team of the local Red Cross was also immediately pressed into action, while the national headquarters of the Indian Red Cross Society continues to closely monitor the situation.
While the Indian Red Cross has sufficient resources to respond to this incident, Canadians wishing to help can make a donation to the International Disaster Relief Fund to help Red Cross be ready to respond to other disasters around the world. You can make your cash donation online; by calling 1-800-418-1111, the 24-hour toll-free line that accepts VISA and MasterCard; in person at any local Red Cross office; or by mailing a cheque made payable to the Canadian Red Cross (earmarked "International Disaster Relief Fund") and mailed to The Canadian Red Cross Society, National Office, 170 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2P2.
The Canadian Red Cross is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which includes the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 185 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Canadian Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.
