Dying man left upside down on an ambulance stretcher in Kerala, driver booked

The patient, who was severely injured in a road accident in Palakkad, succumbed to his injuries in Thrissur medical college early on Saturday.

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An elderly man who was severely injured in a road accident in Kerala, was left almost upside down outside a hospital for several minutes, allegedly by an ambulance driver. The unidentified man, who was injured in a road accident in Palakkad, later passed away at the Thrissur Medical College hospital.

The victim was critically injured in a road accident in Palakkad on March 20, and was taken to a private hospital nearby. From there, he was shifted to the Palakkad district hospital, and on Friday night, he was moved to Thrissur for better care.

Video footage played on Malayalam channels show the old man lying almost upside down on a stretcher, one end of which is still inside the ambulance. The video, reportedly shot by a bystander, shows him in this position for a while, until two men wearing gloves come over to lift him and place him in a wheelchair.

According to local media reports, the driver of the private ambulance was irked that the patient had urinated and defecated inside the vehicle, and therefore decided to leave him in this position. The police neither confirmed nor denied this claim.

“From the information we received, the driver works for a private ambulance service that probably operates near the Palakkad district hospital where the patient was first admitted. We have got the number of the van and registered a case against him under IPC section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) here,” said an official from the Thrissur medical college hospital police station.

According to the the police, the patient passed away at 2.33 am on Saturday. He had no family or attenders with him.

The patient was initially found on the roadside after being hit by a vehicle at Thachanattukara in Palakkad.

“A passerby who found him, admitted him to Mothercare, a private hospital in Mannarkkad initially. From here he was referred to the Palakkad district hospital. Later he was moved to Thrissur as he sustained severe injuries from the accident,” said Khadar Pasha, a Civil police officer at Naatukal station in Palakkad.

A road traffic crime case has also been registered by the Naatukal police to investigate the accident.

The patient’s body will be brought to Palakkad after completing all procedures.

“We will keep the body for two days for family to identify it. If nobody claims the body, he will be buried with the help of the local panchayat funds set aside for this purpose,” said Khadar Pasha.