Sheikha Fatima directs UAE hospitals to treat survivors of Syria quake

Emirates Red Crescent has made arrangements for the injured and their families

Sheikha Fatima, Mother of the Nation, has directed authorities in the UAE to arrange treatment for some of those injured in the Syria quake, including children, in UAE hospitals.

She has taken care of the costs of their treatment and all the resulting commitments, news agency Wam reported.

Emirates Red Crescent, which has been at the forefront of the UAE's humanitarian response in Syria, has begun implementing her directives.

Hamdan Al Mazrouei, chairman of the board of directors of ERC, said the authority has finalised arrangements to receive the first batch of earthquake survivors and their families, and will provide hospital beds and accommodation for the duration of their stay in the UAE.

Dr Al Mazrouei emphasised that the authority was keen that this batch included several injured children who need special care because their condition is considered critical.

Recovery and rehabilitation stage

On Wednesday, the Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence's Operation Gallant Knight/2 entered the recovery and rehabilitation stage to support those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

The Joint Operations Command ― through a maritime aid corridor ― will mobilise humanitarian, food, and medical assistance while continuing the operations through the existing humanitarian air bridge.

A health delegation from various medical authorities in the Emirates has started visiting Syria to rehabilitate its hospitals. The UAE will also build camps for refugees in Syria and Turkey.

While the UAE's search-and-rescue team's mission in Turkey ended on Monday, the Emirati teams are still in Syria, training local teams on the advanced equipment donated to them.

Operation Gallant Knight/2 in Syria and Turkey involved 134 rescuers, a humanitarian air bridge, 136 flights and 3,772 tonnes of food and medical supplies. Two field hospitals were also opened in Turkey.

The UN has said at least 4,525 people in Syria died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks, but the true scale of the disaster is thought to be much higher.

Earthquake-damaged hospitals in Syria - in pictures

Hospitals in north-western Syria have been badly damaged by the February 6 double earthquake. All photos by Moawia Atrash for The National

Ahmed Al Hamoud, a maintenance worker at Sham Children's Hospital in Sarmada, Idlib province, said patients had to be moved from some badly damaged rooms

Dr Omar Al Ali looks at the cracks in the walls of the hospital

Mr Hamoud moves medical equipment from damaged rooms

Hospital director Abdul Rahman Hallaq said parts of the hospital had to be vacated

Dr Al Ali said physicians risked their own lives as they stayed to look after their patients as the buildings shook

An electric heater hangs from a cracked wall

Dr Al Ali claims Syria's doctors have had no help since the quake

He said the hospital continued to work at maximum capacity

The main door of the maternity hospital of the Syrian American Medical Association in the town of Dana, which was closed due to severe damage

The deserted hospital in Al Dana after the quake