July 14, 2006
Bombay Bombing Blogs
India’s financial capital was shocked by a series of bombs set off on the Western Railway in Mumbai. Immediately, friends and family began to search for their loved ones only to find jammed phone lines, unreliable cellphone service, and rejected SMS messages.
Mumbai Help was established last year to assist those in crises after the flooding in Mumbai. After the disaster on Tuesday, over 6,000 people visited the Web site for traffic information, to search the comprehensive list of names of those suspected injured or missing (the list is a wiki that can be updated by anyone), to receive updates on the rail situation, and to find help-line numbers.
The main blog conveys a sense of camaraderie amongst strangers that brings chills to the outside reader. Anxiety-ridden family members, many located outside of India, plea for those with better access to phone services to call or SMS their lost ones for them to ensure that they are safe. Juxtaposed with an obviously ugly tragedy, this blog is a truly beautiful thing.
Eyewitness photos can be found at Now Public and Flickr. Also, check out the blogs on Global Voices Online and Metroblogging Mumbai.
Posted by Buzz Webster at July 14, 2006 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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