Today at 10am CDS had an excellent simulation of MVA patients including one that fell from a bridge. Participants included thirty EMTs and five members from the vertical rescue and recovery team. Simulation took place on the Eureka bridge on the way to Soyapango.
Gunfight Ends International Student Trip
U.S. students and specialists from the University of Des Moines Global Health program who had been participating for three days with personnel of CDS, left the country on Thursday the 19th following a shootout in which one child and a gang member died.
The incident occurred at 3:35 pm a few meters from where the health brigade consults were taking place, in San Bartolo, Ilopango.
According to police, apparently some people that appeared to be gang members came to kill 16 yo Julio Palacios. Two stray bullets killed 10 yo child Jorge Alberto Figueroa, 10, who was in a soccer field at a nearby school and injured another child named, “Steven”, who was attending the health consult. According to Dr. Luis Delgado of CDS, the foreign visitors notified their authority figures at Drake University in Des Moines Iowa.
“We were informed that they left between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning (yesterday), it is a pity because they are bringing back with them a bad impression of our country. The health brigade consults were scheduled to end on Saturday”, said Delgado. There were a total of eighteen students and five experts who participated for two days giving consults in Alegría, Usulután and La Herradura (La Paz).
Moreover, the Director of Education Department of San Salvador, Bartolome Gil lamented the death of the child Jorge Figueroa, a student of Centro Escolar San Bartolo. He also demanded the police to make greater efforts to provide greater surveillance and security. Comandos de Salvamento, and students themselves transported those afflicted with gunshots to surrounding hospitals.
Positive Sea Rescue Simulation
This morning, Comandos along with the Salvadoran Air force practiced beach and sea rescues in order to prepare for the upcoming Holy Week.
CDS successfully conducted on Sunday March 22 the mock air and water rescues at Playa El Majahual in the department of La Libertad.
When the clock hit ten o’clock executive director of CDS, Roberto Cruz gave the green light to start the activity. Domestic and foreign tourists were surprised to see dozens of aid workers, guards and rescuers who were invading the beach at Majahual.
Lifeguards gave the warning to assist three young men injured with a knife on the beach, while more than half hundred lifeguard comandos challenged the angry waters of the Pacific to start the rescue of at least ten people who had been dragged by a sea wave. One after another the victims were pulled to safety by trained guards from CDS. Rescue workers evacuated the patients from the water to the clinical carearea that had been implemented on the beach. A helicopter of the Salvadoran Air Force to support the exercise appeared to help launch the start of the event where they rescued victims from the sea currents. On two occasions the helicopter performed skills in order to evacuate the alleged victims to bring them safely to Earth, while being stabilized by medical and paramedical personnel command then the victims were taken to hospital by air.
With this practice drill, CDS demonstrated the operational capability and knowledge that is taught at the Yolanda Elizabeth Velásquez CDS community EMS school.
Pictured is Nel the frog man of the comandos, jumping from the UH
helicopter to rescue make believe victims that are already accompanied
with support below.
Comandos Edgar Johny Ramos, Roberto Pacheco and International Rep. Mark Hoffman, assisted from above.