ALEPPO, Syria — A recent video diary has given the world a glimpse at what it’s like to be a paramedic in war-torn Syria.
Released on social media by French nonprofit organization Syria Charity, the video follows a Syrian first responder’s actions after an explosion occurs in the middle of a warzone.
A man is filming from the passenger seat of a car when a sudden explosion sends chunks of concrete into the air. A large piece of debris from the blast smashes a hole in the windshield, narrowly missing the driver.
The passenger exits the vehicle and grabs a stretcher from a nearby ambulance marked with the Syria Charity logo. He runs straight into the cloud of dust looking for survivors, and finds a man who was apparently injured in the blast.
With help from bystanders, he loads the man onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.
Another first responder is seen carrying a small boy who was injured from the explosion into the same ambulance. Multiple volunteers and first responders are seen bringing injured patients to the ambulance for treatment.
The video ends with the paramedic making room for additional patients in the ambulance by taking the small boy in his arms with him into the passenger seat.
Since the video was released on Wednesday it has been viewed over 2 million times.