Water Beds Sent to Soviet Fire Victims
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About 50 water beds were airlifted this week from Los Angeles International Airport to the Soviet Union for use in treating people who suffered burns in the recent train disaster in the Ural Mountains.
The beds were sent to Moscow’s Vishnevsky Institute for distribution to burn centers, said Janet Bridgers, a spokeswoman for the sponsoring Waterbed Health Organization, a Los Angeles-based group that promotes the benefits of water beds.
More than 400 people died in the June 4 Ural Mountains disaster when two trains were engulfed in flames caused by a gas pipeline explosion. American burn specialists and their Soviet counterparts are treating more than 800 victims, many of them children.
Water beds are often easier on burn victims than regular mattresses, Bridgers said.
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