After a video of an accident victim being taken in a JCB machine went viral, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Madhya Pradesh’s Katni constituency Sanjay Pathak on Wednesday said that the reports of unavailability of ambulances were incorrect, The Indian Express reported.
Pathak said that inquiry revealed that people at the site of the accident had contacted the ambulance driver, who was unavailable, instead of calling the helpline number.
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“In reality, two ambulances were ready to be deployed. But a phone call wasn’t received,” Pathak said, as quoted by IE.
“When I inquired into the issue I found out that the driver of the ambulance was contacted but he did not pick up.” When the victim was unable to contact the ambulance driver, a BJP worker offered to take him to the hospital in his JCB,” Pathak added.
The MLA said that two ambulances were available at the local hospital.
The incident had taken place at the Barahi area of Katni district, when the victim identified as Mahesh Barman had to be transported to the hospital in the JCB machine.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media on Tuesday.
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Media reports cited the owner of the JCB machine as saying that the man had a fractured leg, but no ambulances were present. After auto rickshaw drivers refused to help, the injured person was taken to the hospital in his JCB.
Meanwhile, Katni’s Chief Medical and Health Officer, Pradeep Mudhiya, told ANI, “An ambulance was coming from a nearby town and got late. We have sent a proposal for a new ambulance.”