Main problem is helping people find loved ones

There was a sudden hush outside the General Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón this afternoon as members of the Spanish …

There was a sudden hush outside the General Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón this afternoon as members of the Spanish royal family were ushered in to visit relatives of those injured in yesterday's bombings.

The moment of silence was followed by an outburst from a women in the crowd, voice pitched with anger as she screamed for the death of Eta. Quickly surrounded by TV cameras and reporters, she continued to shout for an end to the Basque terrorist group being blamed by many Madrilenians for yesterday's carnage.

The woman's anguish was a reflection of the horror, despair and anger felt by the families of victims standing in clusters outside the emergency entrance of the hospital which is treating more than 250 of the injured.

Another woman told reporters she just seen her son. She said his face had been completely burnt off and one of his legs was missing. Clutching a bag of his belongings, she sat on a bench outside the hospital being comforted by friends, with no idea of when she will be told her son is out of danger.

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She is one of the lucky ones - she knows where her son is. Hundreds are still waiting for information.

"The main problem at the moment is identifying victims and helping families find their loved ones," said psychologist Ms Olalla Roblez, who is part of the team at Gregoria Marañón helping relatives establish where family members are being treated.

Uncertainty, grief and fear fill the waiting area set up by the hospital to deal with the hundreds of frantic people who descended on the hospital in search of news.

A list of those injured, along with the hospital where they are being treated, is being updated every 20 minutes, Ms Roblez said. Hospital staff are working hard to gather the names of those missing and the telephone numbers of those looking for them, but many people still await news.

The majority of victims of the bomb explosions at the Metro stations of Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Eugenia are being treated at the hospitals of Gregoria Marañón and Doce de Octubre, with smaller hospitals around the city dealing with the rest.

Three of those brought to Gregoria Marañón have already died and many are being treated for critical burn injuries, according to hospital staff. The victims include many children and a seven-month-old baby whose family has yet to be located.

Though Ms Roblez could not confirm the nationalities of those injured, she said many of the victims names are Arabic, Eastern European and Central American. She said they were probably travelling to work when the bombs exploded during rush hour.

Queen Sofía, Crown Prince Felipe and his fiancée Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano spent about 45 minutes at the hospital this afternoon speaking to relatives. According to Ms Roblez, there was mixed emotions when the royals arrived. Most people were calm, emotions dulled by hours of waiting and uncertainty, but some still called out angrily against terrorism.

The Spanish Health Minister, Ana Pastor, who visited the hospital earlier in the day, was also greeted with cries of "Son of bitches Eta, kill them all" and "the police must kill them".

Meanwhile, doctors, nurses, medical students and hospital staff drafted in from the greater Madrid area were set to work through the night to treat the wounded.