Hundreds answer the call for blood donations to help the injured

Hundreds of people rushed to donate blood to help save the lives of survivors of the Air India Express crash.

Abu Junaij, 30, a travel agent in Kozhikode, went to Baby Memorial Hospital and later to Aster Mims Hospital in the city to give blood.

He said he was overwhelmed by the sight of the long queues of donors despite heavy rain and Covid-19.

“I wasn’t expecting so many people. It was after midnight and yet there were at least 100 people waiting outside the hospital,” Mr Junaij told The National.

“When I reached the blood bank, I saw 15 to 20 people waiting to donate. It was amazing how people came forward despite fears of coronavirus and heavy downpour. I was a little scared, but everyone was wearing masks.”

Hundreds of people queued up outside at least four hospitals in Kozhikode and Mallapuram districts until midnight after reports of the crash, which occurred at about 8pm on Friday.

Eighteen people died in the accident.

Repatriation flight IX-1344 was a part of India’s Vande Bharat mission to bring back its citizens from abroad during the pandemic.

Ambulances, airport taxis and private vehicles were used to take the injured to hospital.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan yesterday said 149 people were injured, of whom 23 were in critical condition.

Television channels showed images of passengers being carried on stretchers and urged people to donate blood.

More than 200 volunteers came forward despite the state struggling with the coronavirus, which has killed more than 100 and infected about 33,000.

“We quickly spread the word on social media to facilitate the donation process. Surprisingly, despite Covid-19, people were willingly coming forward to help,” said Jishnu Raj Madathil, 29, a volunteer at Beat of Heart, a blood donation group.

“I must have received more than 200 calls from eager donors. My phone did not stop ringing the whole night.”

Volunteers followed Covid-19 protocols while giving blood.

“We made sure that everyone wore masks and gloves and maintained a distance at the hospital,” said Fawaz K, a volunteer with Blood Donors Kerala.

“Only 10 persons were allowed at a time outside the blood bank. We verified all the donors.

“No one was allowed from a containment zone. We were able to arrange 150 units of blood by midnight.”

Most hospitals in the state were overwhelmed by the coronavirus, but doctors said all efforts were being made to treat the injured passengers.

Kerala reeled after twin tragedies as a landslide on Friday morning flattened a row of homes at a tea estate in Idukki.

Twenty people were killed and more than 50 were feared to have been trapped.

The crash, on Friday, was India’s worst passenger aircraft accident in a decade.

In 2010, an Air India Express flight, also from Dubai, overshot the runway and landed on a hill in Mangalore, a city in neighbouring Karnataka state.

It burst into flames, killing 158 people.