south

Updated: Aug 21, 2019 12:02 IST

A 54-year-old man died of a heart attack as he could not be taken to a hospital despite the timely arrival of ambulance in Hyderabad on Tuesday night.

Reason: The door of the ambulance got stuck and the staff had to struggle for nearly 15 minutes to break it open.

According to Chaderghat police, Chekkala Anand, a carpenter from Jillellaguda area was returning home in a Multi-Modal Transport Service train (local train) after completing his work at Begumpet.

He boarded the train at Begumpet railway station and was to get down at Malakpet station, from where he would take a bus to reach home. Minutes before the train reached his station, he complained of chest pain and struggled to breathe.

His co-passengers immediately called for “108” ambulance service operated by GVK-Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI). They also informed his family members.

“By the time the train reached Malakpet railway station, the ambulance was ready. The passengers brought Anand out of the station and tried to put him in the ambulance. But the door got stuck and the ambulance driver and the medical assistants could not open it despite several attempts.

Finally, after struggling for 15 minutes, they broke the handle and opened the door,” Chaderghat station house officer G Nagaraju said. But Anand had collapsed by then.

The ambulance staff lifted him into the vehicle, made him lie on the stretcher and tried to give him first aid, including oxygen. “But it was all in vain. They declared him dead,” the police official said.

The family members, who reached the spot, and the people who gathered there protested over the alleged negligence in maintaining the vehicle. Meanwhile, the police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

“The relatives did not file any complaint and so, we have not registered any case. The ambulance staff said they were not at fault, as the vehicle had not been serviced for a long time,” the cop said. GVK-EMRI spokespersons could not be reached for reaction.