MMC transformed into frontline hospital

Urip Hudiono and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The usually quiet Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) was transformed into a scene of chaos and confusion moments after the explosion outside the nearby Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna Said.

Doctors and staff rushed around the emergency room, treating the patients as they swarmed into the hospital in the dozens. Several doctors were standing by, ready to perform surgery on the more seriously injured.

"All of our staff have been called onto duty," said a hospital official.

The cries of the victims and their relatives echoed through the corridors. The shock could be seen on the faces of the bloodied victims.

Gunawan, 45, of Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, who was being treated for facial lacerations, said he was making a U-turn near the embassy when he heard the blast. After blacking out for several seconds in his car, he limped his way to the hospital.

Josuwa Ramos, 25, an embassy security officer, was being treated for injuries to his legs.

"My legs were hit by a metal object during the blast," he said. "I cannot walk yet. I got four stitches to my right leg, and my left leg is extremely painful."

A young man was lying face down, grimacing in pain as his foot was stitched up. Beside him, a mother wiped the blood off her daughter's face.

"It felt like a typhoon. I felt a piercing pain and then the loud blast," said Suwarji, 39, a construction worker who suffered an injury to the back of his head.

Outside the hospital, the ambulances continued to arrive, but security officers had difficulty clearing room for them.

"Please, make way," a paramedic shouted at a crowd blocking off the entrance gate.

Staff at the hospital attempted to control the group of people crowded around the list of victims posted at the hospital's front gate.

Women with glassy eyes skimmed through the list, cries of pain each time a familiar name was spotted.

A total of 105 victims sought treatment at the hospital.

Four bodies were taken to the hospital's morgue, before being transferred to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

At the nearby Aini Eye Hospital, nurses and paramedics treated 27 people. Most were discharged, but two remained for further treatment.

At Jakarta Hospital, 14 victims came in by taxi and private cars.

Most of the victims were suffering from minor cuts and lacerations from flying glass and debris, and were discharged after being treated.

At a press conference at MMC hospital, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso warned hospitals not to refuse to treat any of the bombing victims.

"All of the medical expenses will be paid for by the government," he said.