RIYADH, 24 Apri 2004 — Although many people injured in Wednesday’s blast in Riyadh have returned home after hospitalization, several other family members still find it difficult to recover from the shock.
Yasser Kannan, who works for the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, was attending blast victims admitted to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon when he got a telephone call from his sister giving him the news that his own wife and child were injured in the attack.
“That was the end of everything. I could not move my hands from the shock. I never thought that my own wife and child would be among the victims,” Kannan recalled. “I could not concentrate on my work. I got myself excused and moved out of the room to think what was in store for me,” he said. Kannan ,33, a Lebanese , said he was in tears and feared for the fate of his loved ones.
Around 150 people were injured in the blast and sent to various hospitals in the city. Kannan did not know where his family had been taken and his sister was unable to help. “My sister only knew that there were several ambulances on site taking the patients to various hospitals,” Kannan said.
The medic was in for another shock when he saw his wife Maha and his daughter being rushed to his own emergency room. He was happy to see them but was more anxious to find out the extent of injuries.
The child and the mother were having their lunch at home at the time of the blast. Windowpanes shattered by the force of the explosion, injured the mother and child with flying shards of glass. “It felt like an aircraft was falling on our roof and that it was my doomsday,” said Maha, hugging her daughter. She added that the whole episode was very scary, as innocent people were suffering at the hands of ruthless people.
Kannan said that his wife’s injuries were minimal but she had breathing difficulties due to smoke inhalation. “After treatment, my wife decided to leave the hospital since there were a large number of more serious patients,” Kannan said. “Time will heal the trauma that shook our family,” he concluded.
