World News
Italian Red Cross provides emergency help to thousands of pilgrims flocking to the Vatican
By IFRC
Apr 8, 2005, 03:52

In Rome, 2,500 Italian Red Cross volunteers are currently providing emergency assistance to more than 1,000 people daily, exhausted by the hours of waiting to pay homage to Pope John Paul II, who passed away on Saturday 2 April.

Many of the pilgrims being assisted by the Italian Red Cross suffer from dehydration, low blood pressure, fainting spells, heart conditions and diabetes, as they wait for long hours in the queue to see the Pontiff, lying in state in Saint Peter�s basilica. Most of the people being treated are the elderly and the very young.

The Italian Red Cross has mobilized 50 mobile first aid teams, 50 doctors, 75 ambulances and 2 field kitchens. These 24-hour first aid services are being provided in 12 small emergency field hospitals as well as in other health posts on St Peter�s Square and on streets around the Holy See and in the temporary camps set up in sports stadiums to accommodate those who have no place to sleep.
Italian authorities are estimating that four million pilgrims have arrived in Rome for the Pontiff�s funeral, and 25 giant screens have been set up in the Rome to allow people to follow the funeral, scheduled for Friday morning, and dissuade them from going to the basilica.

�We are very proud of the prompt and efficient reaction of Italian Red Cross volunteers who are giving essential assistance to people, in extraordinarily difficult conditions, especially in terms of access,� says Italian Red Cross Extraordinary Commissioner, Maurizio Scelli. �In fact, a mass population movement � equivalent in numbers to the total population of Rome - has occurred. They are all concentrated in one neighbourhood of the city. We are particularly worried about the simultaneous outflow of pilgrims once the funeral ceremony is over.�

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