Israel to evacuate premature surrogate babies from Nepal
After second deadly quake rocks Nepal, MDA to send delegation to retrieve four newborns from Kathmandu hospital. Father recalls: 'I took baby in my hands and ran for safety.'
He called for Israeli assistance and received an answer within hours. Magen David Adom rescue personnel said a delegation will depart to Nepal on Tuesday night to bring the newborns to Israel.
As in the previous earthquake, dozens of patients rushed to escape the hospital when the trembles started. The Grande International Hospital in Kathmandu has also been hosting two other babies born to Israeli fathers undergoing the surrogacy process. "Suddenly the ground began to shake," Elani told Ynet on the phone.
"All the walls were moving and medical equipment was falling to the floor. A nurse grabbed my son and took him outside; the rest of the fathers immediately disconnected the babies from the devices and ran to the hotel's plaza for fear the building would collapse," he recalled.
The new father to twins said he quickly followed suit. "I took my daughter in my hands and disconnected her from the devices – some of the tubes I had to rip with my teeth."
Following April's deadly earthquake, the neonatal intensive care unit was relocated from the fifth floor of the hospital to the ground floor, to help the fathers escape to safety. "Fortunately, we got out relatively quick and it was a miracle because it happened during visiting hours when all the fathers were in for an update on their babies," said Elani.
"As soon as he started speaking, everything started shaking," he added.
After the quake, the Israeli ambassador to Nepal arrived at the hospital. "Our primary mission now is to assist the worried parents and their babies return safely to Israel as soon as possible. We are accompanying them closely and will continue to work with all the relevant officials to assure the families could return with haste."
Itamar Eichner contributed to this report.
