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EXPLOSION IN BEIRUT

Emergency hospital to be sent to Beirut can function autonomously for one month

Earlier, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s press service reported that on August 5, the ministry will send to Lebanon a mobile hospital with medics and rescuers to provide aid to the explosion victims

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Mobile hospital of the Central Search and Rescue Unit (CENTROSPAS) of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry which will be sent to Lebanon to provide aid to explosion victims is capable of working autonomously for 30 days, the Emergencies Ministry’s press service told TASS on Wednesday.

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Death toll in Beirut explosion tops 100

"The hospital is completely autonomous and in this regime it is capable of functioning for 30 days," the press service said. It can treat up to 200 outpatients a day, its in-patient facilities are designed for 50 patients. The ministry’s press service specified that the hospital has intensive care, surgical and consultation and diagnostics units as well as ultrasound, X-ray and ECG facilities and a blood lab. It is equipped to conduct the most complex surgeries. If necessary, it may be parachuted to the disaster area to treat the first injuries in 40 minutes.

Additionally, the CENTROSPAS hospital is included in the top three of the global rating of the emergency medical brigades working in disaster areas drawn up by the WHO. Its staff includes general practitioners, surgeons, neuropathologists, trauma specialists and cardiologists who used to provide medical aid in disaster zones in Russia and worldwide. The hospital can function at a temperature range from minus 50 to plus 50 Centigrade. The first experience of its combat use was during the war in Yugoslavia in 1999. Back then, the medics were performing surgeries directly under fire of the NATO planes.

Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry’s press service reported that on August 5, the ministry will send to Lebanon a mobile hospital with medics and rescuers to provide aid to the explosion victims. In all, five planes will depart for Beirut carrying the mobile hospital, doctors and the CENTROSPAS rescuers.

A powerful blast rocked the Beirut seaport district not far from Lebanon’s naval base on Tuesday, sending a shockwave that ripped through residential areas of the Lebanese capital. The shockwave destroyed and damaged dozens of buildings and cars, windows were smashed in many city blocks. According to local authorities, the blast was caused by the detonation of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored in the port after being confiscated by the customs services in 2014. According to the latest data, more than 100 people were killed and over 4,000 injured. The authorities declared an official period of mourning. A two-week state of emergency has been announced in the Lebanese capital, which was declared a disaster zone.

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