Surgeons shield patient during operation as 7.1-magnitude quake shakes Kumamoto
Security-camera video from July 28 shows surgeons shielding a patient as a magnitude-7.1 quake rattled Kumamoto; the operation later continued and was finished successfully.
Security-camera footage captured surgeons using their bodies to shield a patient as a strong earthquake struck a hospital in Kumamoto on July 28. The clip shows the operating theatre shaking violently and equipment and objects flying across the room while staff scramble to secure the scene.
Moment-by-moment: doctors protect the patient
In the video two surgeons can be seen holding the operating table and covering the patient, while other members of the team try to stay upright. One staff member falls to the floor while attempting to steady moving equipment.
The operation later resumed and was completed successfully, and the hospital returned to normal operations on Wednesday.
The quake, measured at magnitude 7.1, hit the southern part of the Japanese island of Kyushu on the afternoon of July 28. Reports put the death toll at around 38 people and more than 120 injured.
The tremor also triggered an explosion at a shopping centre and toppled a factory chimney in Kumamoto Prefecture. Several buildings collapsed and power was cut for thousands of households; roads across the region were damaged.
Authorities said at least 79,000 people were left without running water and about 3,500 households were without electricity for several days, while temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius. Around 9,000 evacuees were housed in shelters.
Photo: Printskrin / Iks/@nhk_news
