BRUSSELS (AP) – When extremists began their bloody attack on Paris on Nov. 13, it triggered the activation of an emergency response plan to treat the injured – and while 302 people were rushed to hospitals, only four died, according to a report published Tuesday in the journal, Lancet.
About one hour after the first suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Stade de France, health officials decided to put their “White Plan” into action, a disaster response plan developed two decades ago that had never been used in such circumstances.
“We did not know how and when this nightmare would end,” doctors wrote in their report. More than 40 medical teams and the fire department were divided between the attack sites and 15 more were kept on standby.
The coordinated attacks across the city claimed 130 victims, but most died instantly and never made it to the hospital.
Most of the victims had gunshot wounds and health workers were so desperate for tourniquets to stop the bleeding that the mobile response teams returned to the hospitals without their belts. To avoid overwhelming emergency rooms in the area closest to the two restaurant shootings, health workers conducted triage at the hospital entrance.