Injured victims out of danger
After the attack in Magdeburg, dozens of injured people were taken to the university hospital. The director of the hospital said the emergency plan worked well.
Magdeburg (dpa) – After the attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, no victims of the attack are in mortal danger at the university hospital, according to the director responsible for intensive care. Emergency physician Robert Werdehausen said that of the 72 injured people who were treated at the hospital, the vast majority had already been discharged. “There were also 15 critically injured patients who arrived at our hospital in an unstable condition, all of whom we were able to stabilise – including a number of children.”
According to Werdehausen, the most common injuries were multiple bone fractures of the arms and legs, but also of the pelvis, accompanied by significant blood loss. The fact that some patients could not be saved was not due to the large number of emergencies but to the severity of the injuries they sustained. Werdehausen said he was glad that training had been organised for this type of emergency beforehand. “This enabled us to provide patients with very effective and prompt care. Crisis teams were formed based on a defined plan, and additional personnel were recruited via a digital alerting system. Werdehausen said that there had ultimately been 520 employees from all occupational groups who had been willing to help: “We weren’t even able to deploy all the volunteers.”
The perpetrator, a doctor from Saudi Arabia, drove a car through the Christmas market last Friday evening. Five people were killed and up to 235 injured.