Submerged polyclinic needs RM3 mil to repair

MAGLAJ: The polyclinic in Maglaj, the only medical facility in the area, was completely submerged when the beautiful Bosna river overflowed its banks after constant rain for more than a month.
"The water level in the building was more than 3m high. The physiotherapy clinic in the basement level was completely under water and equipment in the room has been completely destroyed," said the polyclinic's director Dr Drnda-Cicehlic Emira.
"Two patients and all 16 hospital staff who were in the hospital at the time were trapped for a couple of days as the entrance was inaccessible. They had to wait until the water receded and for help to arrive to get out. The water rose very fast and the current was very strong, it swept away all that was in its path. Here in Maglaj, two people died," she told theSun when they went to the health facility to donate some emergency medical supplies.
"The last flood in 1965 was not as bad as this, the water rose only about 2m high and there was not much damage. The authorities built a wall next to the river so that the water would not overflow, but even that preventive measure was not enough to protect us this time. I can't remember a time when it rained so heavily in Bosnia," she added.
Mercy Malaysia and theSun donated some emergency medicines worth EUR 2,000 (about RM8,700) that the polyclinic needed urgently.
Dr Emira estimates that repairs to the polyclinic would cost about RM3 million.