‘Heartbreaking’: Indian villagers carry a sick man 12km on makeshift stretcher to ambulance due to lack of roads (VIDEO)
by RT
‘Heartbreaking’: Indian villagers carry a sick man 12km on makeshift stretcher to ambulance due to lack of roads (VIDEO)
Residents of a village in the southeastern Andra Pradesh state raced against time as they covered 12 kilometers on foot to bring a severely ill man to an ambulance, which could not get to the patient in the roadless terrain.
Jarata Nagaraju, 22, from Vizianagaram district in India’s Andra Pradesh was suffering from an acute case of jaundice for several days and was in urgent need of medical help – the only problem was that the nearest place an ambulance could get was some 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) away from his home – the distance not every healthy person will manage at once.
#WATCH Andhra Pradesh: A 22-year-old man suffering from jaundice carried on a makeshift stretcher for 12 km to reach ambulance in Vizianagaram district due to lack of proper road connectivity. pic.twitter.com/HmaE4btTGa
As the man’s condition was not getting better, his fellow villagers took matters in their own hands and set off on a grueling journey, carrying the ailing man on a makeshift stretcher all the way up to the road, sufficiently passable for an ambulance. The car was already waiting for the procession.
“Villagers of hamlet carried the patient for almost 12 km and reached a road. From there the patient was carried in an ambulance,” a doctor was quoted by ANI news agency as saying.
Nagaraju was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, and was administered first aid. He then was transported to another hospital for further treatment.
The video of the villager’s dramatic rescue effort has sparked an outpour of support for the man on social media.
“This is heartbreaking. I hope the old man gets healthy and their village gets road soon,” a commenter wrote.
This is heartbreaking. I hope the old man gets healthy and their village gets road soon
Many used the occasion to lament the lack of basic infrastructure in what appears to be a tribal area, with some suggesting the man should have rather been airlifted.
