Mrinal Gore flyover accident: '108 had received another emergency call'

A day after mid-day highlighted how the 108 emergency services refused to take an accident victim's body to hospital, officials are now trying to justify the act by saying they had to attend to another emergency call.

Read Story: Mumbai: Man bleeds to death as auto skids on Mrinal Gore flyover

Jyotsna Mane, programme manager at Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), said, "Generally 108 ambulances have doctors with them who examine the injured after they reach the spot. Even if an injured person dies on the spot, 108 normally takes him/her to the nearest centre where he/she is officially declared dead."

"But in this case, the ambulance received another emergency call so they couldn't take the body to the hospital. I will have to check from when the second call was made," she added. A 108 doctor added, "Our emergency service number keeps getting calls, so we can't waste our precious time by taking a dead body to hospital. We can use that time to save someone's life."

On Sunday, Deepak Panchal (58), his wife and sister-in-law were returning home in an auto rickshaw when the driver lost control on the slippery road and another vehicle rammed into it from behind. According to eyewitnesses, the ambulance not only came 30 minutes late but also refused to take Panchal's body to a trauma centre. "The doctor from 108 examined him and declared him dead. After that he refused to take the body stating that they don't carry the dead," an eyewitness had said. The body was later taken away in a police van.

Despite repeated request, Dr Deepak Sawant, the state health minister couldn't be reached.