National Mourning in Romania
Wednesday was declared a day of national mourning in Romania in memory of the victims of the terrible bus accident in Montenegro.
Roxana Vasile, 26.06.2013, 13:12
On June 26th, Romania usually celebrates Flag Day. This year, however, festivities have been replaced by mourning, as 47 families are grieving for their dead or waiting in front of hospitals for news about their loved ones. The Romanian Government declared Wednesday a day of national mourning in memory of the victims of the terrible accident that occurred in Montenegro on Sunday, when a bus full of tourists swayed off a bridge and crushed into a deep ravine.
In an extraordinary display of solidarity, Montenegro also decided to take a similar decision to commemorate the victims. Romanians will not forget the long queues of locals offering to donate blood for those in need, or those who ignored the danger and climbed down the ravine to help the wounded, not only rescuers, but also ordinary people. The State Secretary with the Romanian Health Ministry, Raed Arafat, talked about this extraordinary show of solidarity in an interview to our station.
Raed Arafat: “The very moment the Prime Minister ordered the deployment of an assessment team to site place of the accident, which included representatives of the Foreign Ministry, I went there too. Collaboration with doctors there and the Montenegrin authorities was exemplary. The Health Minister was there with us every day and visited patients in hospital for us to decide the next steps together. The Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean was received by the Montenegrin President and by the Prime Minister, so I can tell you that the official reaction was extremely positive and supportive.”
On Tuesday, till late at night, the wounded, who were initially hospitalised in the capital of Montenegro, Podgoritsa, were brought back home by Romanian military planes to receive medical care in Bucharest. Another aircraft brought the bodies of the deceased. The extent of the medical operation in the aftermath of the accident is unprecedented, given the complexity of the case and the large number of casualties. It was the largest operation ever staged in Romania with the help of the army. In total, three aircraft and some 40 doctors and nurses were mobilised for the return home of the 47 victims.
While for the families of the victims, the tragic accident on Sunday will be a dark memory forever, for Romania and Montenegro it is proof that these two countries, 1,000 km apart, share common values of solidarity and respect for life.
