A number of victims are being treated at LNJP Hospital across multiple departments. Three days after a car exploded on a busy road near Delhi’s Red Fort, the deadly blast left several injured and many others traumatised. The blast on a Hyundai i20 at a busy intersection near Lal Qila Metro Station left 10 people dead and over 20 injured. Several of those injured in the massive blast in the capital’s recent history have complained of hearing troubles and pain in their ear.
Several of the blast victims are receiving treatment at the LNJP Hospital, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited on Wednesday. The hospital’s emergency ward currently has 12 patients, six in the isolation ward, four in the ICU, four in the neurosurgery unit, and one in the trauma centre.
Among them, 28-year-old Md Safwan from Chennai is suffering from pain in both ears, abrasions, swelling in his leg, and bruises. Another patient, Shiva Jaiswal, also 28, from Uttar Pradesh, has hearing issues in both ears, burns on his arm, forearm, and face, and multiple abrasions. Of the 10 people killed in the explosion, only eight have been identified so far, as several bodies were brought in dismembered.
What do experts say?
Dr. Devinder Rai, Senior Consultant, ENT Department, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that in such high-intensity blasts, the impact varies depending on several factors, including the distance from the explosion. “Some people are also more prone to what we call ‘soft ears,’ meaning they are more sensitive to noise-induced trauma than others. The duration and intensity of the effect vary, often resulting in temporary or permanent hearing impairment and, in some cases, tinnitus, a persistent ringing sound in the ear,” he said. On Monday evening, a powerful explosion ripped through a slow-moving car near the Red Fort area, killing at least 10 people.
Cosmetics seller Rajeev Kumar has not slept since the night of the Red Fort blast and the horrific details of incident hasn’t left his mind.vIt was the locals who first helped the victims of the attack. Kumar, who has a shop near Red Fort, was one of the first people to respond to the explosion. “I thought it was a cylinder blast. But when I saw people lying on the road, bleeding, I rushed to help an injured man. He was writing in pain,” he said. On Wednesday, Kumar visited the LNJP Hospital to check on the man he had helped.
“I couldn’t sleep for the last two nights. I just wanted to know if that man survived. When something like this happens in front of you, it doesn’t leave your mind easily,” he said.
Fizaan, an ambulance driver who helped several people to reach the hospital, said he could feel the life still in the body parts. “I carried body parts in my hands. They were shaking,” he said. “There was a loud sound. We did not know what had happened. Sometimes tyres burst and it sounds the same. But when our beat officer told us that there had been an explosion, we rushed straight to Red Fort,” he said.
Imran, Fizaan’s colleague who was with him in the ambulance also shared his experience. “We didn’t think much at that time. We just started lifting people. Some were not moving at all, some were crying in pain,” he said. “The smell of smoke and burnt metal was everywhere. Some bodies were severely mutilated,” he said.
