Another three girls were brought to the Georgetown Public Hospital for critical medical care on Monday afternoon after they were seriously injured in the horrific fire at the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory, Region Eight.
With these three girls, a total of nine girls were airlifted to Georgetown for medical attention.
Dr. Shilindra Rajkumar, a surgeon at the Georgetown Hospital, was one of the two doctors who went to Mahdia to provide support. He returned Monday afternoon with the last set of patients who needed critical care and updated reporters on the condition of those three patients.
According to him, one of the three girls was grappling with a preexisting condition and the amount of smoke she inhaled exacerbated her condition.
The second girl had serious facial burns and was wheezing. The third also experienced some difficulty breathing, owing to the amount of smoke she inhaled.
“There is also an element of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“These kids are in a state of shock right now. It has been a very challenging night and day for them and we were not comfortable leaving them alone,” Dr. Rajkumar said.
In addition to these three patients, six others came earlier in the day and were receiving critical care. One of the nine patients brought to Georgetown was a 12-year-old girl who needed a limb-saving surgery because of the extent of her injuries. That surgery went successfully but the girl remains under close observation as a burns patient.
Three other girls are receiving treatment in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU while another two are in the paediatric High Dependency Unit (HDU). Of those hospitalised, three are aged 14; one is 12, and another is 13. The age of the last child is unknown.
Meanwhile, a mental health team comprising stakeholders from various government ministries and agencies has been mobilised to provide support to students, parents and other persons affected by the tragic fire.
Authorities have confirmed that 18 girls and one boy died in the fire. The girls were students while the boy, 5, was the son of the caretakers of the dormitory. Investigators also found that the fire was maliciously set by another student.
