Citation

Zafren K, Brants A, Tabner K, Nyberg A, Pun M, Basnyat B, Brodmann Maeder M. Wilderness Environ. Med. 2018; 29(3): 401-410.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland (Dr Brodmann Maeder); EURAC Research, Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy (Dr Brodmann Maeder); Pasang Lhamu - Nicole Niquille Hospital, Lukla, Nepal (Dr Brodmann Maeder).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.wem.2018.03.007

PMID

29891425

Abstract

The Nepal Earthquake of 2015 killed over 8000 people and injured over 20,000 in Nepal. Moments after the earthquake, an avalanche of falling ice came down from above Everest Base Camp (EBC). The air blast created by the avalanche flattened the middle part of EBC, killing 15 people and injuring at least 70. The casualties were initially triaged and treated at EBC and then evacuated by air to Kathmandu for definitive care. There were intermediate stops at the villages of Pheriche and Lukla during which the casualties were offloaded, retriaged, treated, and loaded again for further transport. Most of the authors of this article helped to provide primary disaster relief at EBC, Pheriche, or Lukla immediately after the earthquake. We describe the process by which an ad hoc rescue chain evacuated the casualties. We discuss challenges, both medical and nonmedical, what went well, and lessons learned. We make recommendations for disaster planning in the Khumbu (Everest) region, an isolated high altitude roadless area of Nepal.

Copyright © 2018 Wilderness Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

air medical transport; avalanche; disaster; helicopter emergency medical services; trauma