Medical personnel respond quickly to Xinjiang's injured

Turnisa Shadawu, a resident of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, had completed a CT scan and was receiving further treatment when a China Daily reporter visited her in a local traditional Chinese medical hospital.

"I just bought some vegetables that morning," said the old woman, whose breastbone, arms and legs were broken by the shock of an explosion in an open-air market in Urumqi, the regional capital, on Thursday morning. "Who would have thought I would come within an inch of dying?"

Even worse, the terror attack caused heavy injuries to her pregnant daughter, Rezgul Hasmu, who was also undergoing treatment in the hospital.

An injured man, 79-year-old Tian Jufeng, remembered hearing a loud noise when he was in the market in the morning and that he was missing a shoe when he woke in the regional people's hospital.

"The terrorists were too cruel," he said, sobbing and trembling. "I believe the central government and our regional authorities can deal with the case well."

As Tian shared his memories, his wife, Wang Shuying, burst into tears, saying they had spend most of their life in Xinjiang and loved the area, "and we won't be scared away".

Regul Shayita underwent surgery after she was sent to the hospital on Thursday morning. The tragedy happened as she was on her way home.

"I don't understand why the guys threw explosives into the market. They were inhuman," she said.

Medical staff from health bureaus in the region and the province's capital rushed to help with the rescue response within 10 minutes and coordinated the medical resources of hospitals in the area after the attack, aiming to ensure every injured person could be treated.

Liu Hongxia, director of the medical department at the traditional Chinese medical hospital, said she was informed she would be needed to give first aid treatment at about 8 am on Thursday and all medical staff in her workplace rushed to their positions within five minutes.

"In this way, we could make sure every injured resident could receive treatment as they were brought to our hospital," Liu said, adding such a quick response would greatly reduce the damage caused by the terrorists.

In addition to Liu's hospital, the nearest to the site of the explosions, other hospitals in the region and the capital also devoted medical staff to the response.

When a China Daily reporter visited these hospitals, some medical officers were checking the injured, while others were providing relatives of victims with psychological counseling.

An officer from the capital's health bureau added that the first ambulance only took one minute to get to the market.

In addition, 14 medical experts from the National Health and Family Planning Commission had arrived at Urumqi on Thursday, to give all the injured extensive injury evaluations, and map out their future medical needs.