Hospital treats 1,700 tsunami victims

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Harapan Bunda Hospital has treated more than 1,700 Banda Aceh residents for free since the December tsunami, the hospital announced on Wednesday.

Tsunami survivors have received free medical treatment since January this year, said Oermaya Oemar, the hospital's director.

Oermaya said that doctors from outside the province had volunteered to assist in treating tsunami patients at the hospital.

The hospital received funding from foreign donors and non- governmental organizations, which enabled it to treat people for free.

One hundred women have also given birth at the hospital since January, with one of them giving birth to triplets, said Oermaya.

At least 129,000 people were listed as dead or missing in Aceh alone after the Dec. 26 tsunami. -- Antara