A medic from Montrose is lending his expertise to the people of Beirut in the aftermath of a huge explosion that left at least 200 dead.
Nurse David Anderson saw first-hand the humanitarian catastrophe the people of the Lebanese capital faced in the wake of this month’s deadly blast.
Questions have been raised over the storage of ammonium nitrate at the site.
Mr Anderson flew to Beirut within days of the explosion, which is believed to have injured around 6,000 people.
Mr Anderson, a health adviser with charity UK-Med, believes the challenges the people of Beirut have to contend with are even worse than what he saw dealing with the West Africa Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone in 2014 and 2015.
The 51-year old said: “The Ebola crisis is one thing and it wasn’t a very pleasant task, but this is absolutely the biggest thing that I have been deployed to for support in relation to a mass casualty event. It’s huge.
“You cannot help but feel empathy for the individuals you see walking around who are wounded, as well as for the staff in hospitals we speak with to make a full and proper needs assessment.
“We were not there when those patients came through the door. However, you can see the aftermath and it’s not a pleasant thing.”
Working with charities UK-Med and Humanity Inclusion, Mr Anderson will report back to the Department for International Development on what help is needed.
The UK has pledged £20 million to the World Food Programme and £5 million to the emergency relief effort in Beirut.
David, who now lives in East Midlands, hailed Lebanese medics for saving countless lives in the aftermath of the disaster.
He said: “The Lebanese people have done an outstanding job at coping with a mass casualty event on a scale that is just unimaginable.
“As an emergency nurse and humanitarian health adviser, I can only imagine how horrific it was to deal with the huge numbers of patients in the initial hours after the explosion.”
International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The Lebanese people continue to be in our thoughts at this terrible time.
“The UK is sending these world-leading medics to use their expertise and to make sure the people of Lebanon get the help they need as quickly as possible.
“This field team comes on top of the UK’s substantial military support and aid package.
“We will do everything we can to help the people of Lebanon in their hour of need.”
