Tracing services during bus accident near the city of Eilat

On August 16th, 2008, early afternoon, MDA received an urgent call describing a tourists' bus rolling over in the desert area near the city of Eilat. MDA teams who arrived the scene reported on one of the most severe road accidents ever witnessed. As time passes along, a major element was realized to carry further implications - apart of the driver and the escort personnel, all the passengers were tourists from Russia, counting 50 people out of which half lost their lives in this devastating event.

After acknowledging that the accident varies from other severe road accidents that MDA teams are habituated to handle, MDA activated its tracing volunteers in order for them to confirm the hospitals to which the injured were transferred, communicate with them as much as possible and find out as of immediate update on their condition to their families in back in their home country - Russia.

Additionally, the tracing teams stationed at the NMDC (National Medical Communication & Dispatching Center) reported the saddening events to the International Movement of the Red Cross Red Crescent and the Russian Red Cross. The tracing volunteers were in constant contact with MDA representative in the MFA, and one hour after the injured evacuation finished, the teams had the list of all passengers involved in the accident, including their location in the various hospital departments.

Employees and volunteers, Russian and English speakers, joined the tracing teams in the NMDC and called the families of those who survived the accident, and notified them as of their medical state, location of hospitalization and ways of communication with them.  The activity lasted several days provided that many of the injured were transferred to different hospitals although Israel.