Explosion in Zvezdara, young man (26) loses hand

A 26-year-old man was seriously hurt overnight into June 7 when a small explosion went off in Belgrade’s Zvezdara district. The city emergency medical service says he suffered a multiple-trauma injury that left doctors no choice but to amputate his hand. He was taken straight to the Emergency Centre and placed in the red zone, the area reserved for the most critical patients.

What caused the blast is still unclear. It has not been officially confirmed exactly what detonated, or whether some kind of device was involved. The cause and the full circumstances are being established by the relevant authorities, who are working to clarify the case. As of the time of writing, there had been no official statement on how the man came into contact with the object that exploded.

How did the ambulance call-out unfold?

The emergency service said a small explosion went off during the night, that the man suffered a multiple-trauma injury, and that his hand had to be amputated. Polytrauma is the medical term for injuries to several body systems or regions at once, a condition that as a rule requires treatment in intensive care.

Crews on the scene gave first aid and stabilised the patient before transport, after which he was handed over to doctors at the Emergency Centre. Being placed in the red zone means the patient is classed as facing an immediate threat to life, a category that calls for treatment without delay. How the treatment proceeds will depend on the extent of the injuries and on his recovery over the coming days.

The authorities are carrying out an on-site investigation and gathering information about the location where the explosion happened. Only once that work and the relevant forensic analysis are complete will it be possible to establish how the injury occurred, and whether the incident shows any elements of a criminal offence. Until then, any theory about the cause remains speculation, and the details of the case are still being checked.

A demanding night for Belgrade’s ambulance service

The Zvezdara explosion was only one of a string of calls over the past night. The city emergency medical service says its crews handled about 125 call-outs, around 20 of them in public places. That is a typically heavy workload for a single night in the capital, where calls range from injuries and accidents to sudden medical emergencies.

Cases involving explosive material are among the hardest crews face in the field, because the injuries tend to affect several parts of the body at once. In such situations, how quickly help arrives and how well a patient is treated on the spot directly shape the outcome. That is why the most critical patients, like the young man from Zvezdara, are sent straight to a facility equipped for surgical and intensive care.

For now it is not known what the man was doing when the explosion occurred, or whether anyone else was nearby. Because the cause is still under investigation, the picture will likely become clearer only once the authorities publish their findings. How much, in your view, can a rapid response by the emergency services change the outcome in cases like this?