Australian Surgeons Treating Bali Bombing Victims Remove 'Bags of Shrapnel' | Voice of America - English
Doctors in Australia are continuing to treat victims of Saturday's bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali. Surgeons at the Royal Darwin Hospital say they have removed shrapnel from survivors that would fill dozens of shopping bags.
Doctors at the Royal Darwin Hospital - which is two hours by air from Bali - have said the injuries they have treated from Saturday night's three bomb blasts were consistent with 'warfare'. Many of the medical staff caring for the victims also treated survivors of the Bali bombings in October 2002, when 200 people were killed, among them 88 Australians. Around a dozen survivors of the latest attacks are still being cared for in Darwin, including two Australians, an Indonesian and two Japanese, who are all critically wounded. Other victims are being treated in Singapore and Indonesia. Dr. Len Notaras of the Royal Darwin Hospital says a large quantity of shrapnel has been removed from the bodies of survivors. "It would be an inestimable amount at the present moment," the doctor said. "Suffice to say that several dozens of paper bags, large paper bags, shopping bags have been filled up with various aspects of the shrapnel that has been picked up and retained." The shrapnel will be handed over to a joint Indonesian and Australian police team investigating Saturday night's apparent suicide bombings in two crowded tourist areas on the Indonesian resort island. Two Australians have been confirmed to be among the 22 people killed, while a couple from New South Wales state is missing, presumed dead. Many Australian tourists have fled Bali in the aftermath of the bombings. Travel agent Mark Williams says many others are changing their vacation plans. "People going to Bali were going for a couple of different reasons," he explained. "One was the cultural experience so we are seeing those people going to Thailand, Malaysia - those sorts of destinations. Other people who were chasing a beach-style holiday are relocating to destinations within Australia. Fiji is popular and also Hawaii." The weekend's attacks in Bali have stirred painful memories for survivors of the 2002 blast. One Australian woman, who suffered burns to most of her body, has warned those involved in the latest outrage to prepare to "go through hell" in the weeks and months ahead. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said he will travel to Indonesia to lobby for radical Islamic organization Jemaah Islamiyah to be outlawed. Canberra believes the organization was probably responsible for the latest Bali bombings.