Drunkards using 108 ambulance to reach home

It is around midnight, when a 40-year old calls up 108 and ‘’informs’’ that an accident has taken place near RTC crossroads. He pleads with the staff to send an ambulance post-haste. As the vehicle reaches the spot, the man tells them he is a ‘’patient’’ and needs to go to the Gandhi Hospital. But he gets down smugly at a little distance from the hospital and vanishes into the dark. It is here that the driver realises the man was drunk and just wanted a ‘lift’’. Of late, the emergency ambulance service 108, is being used by drunkards to go home. Even as hoax calls to the 108 service of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) has gradually gone down, the staff members are perplexed whether to provide their service to the needy callers as drunkards are misusing the service and giving false information.VNS Prasad, regional manager (Operations), EMRI told Expresso that though hoax calls have gradually gone down, a number of calls are being received by the 108 call centre from drunkards who seem to be misusing the service. “We are not able to attend to real emergencies due to these fake calls. This has affected on our average response time as the services are badly affected by drunkards repeatedly making false calls,’’ he added.These fake calls are reportedly being made by drunkards, mostly residing near the Osmania General Hospital, Gandhi Hospital and other localities. They frequently make calls to the 108 emergency service call centre giving false information about the place and incident. As soon as the 108 ambulance reaches the spot, they get in the vehicle and direct staff members to go to a hospital near their house. As the vehicle reaches near the hospital, they ask staff member to stop the vehicle and simply walk out. Prasad said they are planning to implement a ‘Dynamic Positioning’ system in an attempt to combat potentially life-threatening problems. He said hoax calls could cost lives as they tie up vital resources and hinder response times to real emergencies.There are quite a few numbers which can be seen from the graphic given, which have been making regular fake emergency calls to the 108 emergency ambulance service.

EMRI, 108 Emergency service vehicle

By Mouli Mareedu

Probe team suspects Amrita was on mobile

Was Amrita Roy, the Air Asia employee, who died in a freak mishap on Sunday, busy in conversation on her mobile when the operator started retracting the aerobridge no 55 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA)? A three-member team of airport officials who began a probe on the mishap have just this suspicion.Sources at the airport told Express that Amrita had been alerted by her colleagues, while they were coming down after finishing their work inside the aircraft.They said she was standing near the edge of the aerobridge. “Perhaps, she was talking on her mobile and was so engrossed in the conversation, that she failed to take notice of it,” they said.Amrita Roy, a 25-year-old guest service officer (GSO) of Air Asia was crushed to death on Sunday under the retracting aerobridge, after passengers had boarded the Air Asia AK-224 Kuala Lumpur-bound aircraft.As a matter of routine, four to six aircraft employees wish all the passengers after they board the aircraft and check all their ticket details. After the verification, they submit the check report to the air hostess. Then, the aerobridge operator retracts the aerobridge after a siren signal is given by the concerned authorities.The three-member team comprising RGIA deputy executive officer Vikram Jaisinghania, Delhi Airport chief operating officer Peter Noyce and RGIA chief security secretary Uma Ganapathi started their probe by meeting various Air Asia employees and hearing their versions.The team also enquired with local police about the information gathered by them.They collected Amrita’s mobile phone to track the details to ascertain till what point of time she was talking on her mobile.Meanwhile, autopsy reports of Amrita have ascertained that she died on the spot due to ‘numerological shock’ rather than injuries. It revealed that her right arm was completely damaged as it got trapped in the retracting aerobridge.RGIA authorities said the investigation team would reveal the details of the probe within three days, after collecting information from the police, RGIA authority, other airline companies and employees of Air Asia.

Its a file photo of Aerobridge at Rajive Gandhi International Airport

By Mouli Mareedu

Air Asia employee dies in freak mishap

Just a few minutes after she wished bon voyage to all the passengers who had boarded the Air Asia AK 224, 25-year-old, Amrita Roy, Guest Service Officer of the airline, bid farewell to the world. She died on the spot after she was caught in a retracting aerobridge at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here this morning.Amrita had promised her mother Sudheekha Roy that she would return home early from work. But, it was not to be.Amrita’s right arm got trapped in the aerobridge, which retracted after passengers had boarded the flight.The accident took place around 9:30 am when Amrita got down from the Kualalumpur-bound flight, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Station Inspector R Sanjay Kumar told Express. She was noting down a few points on duty book when the retracting aerobridge swept her and crushed her to death. She was rushed to the Apollo Medical Centre at the airport but doctors declared her dead at 10.40 am.“The circumstances in which the tragedy took place were bizarre. We are very upset. We are praying that the family would be able to cope with the tragedy with fortitude. A committee headed by Deputy CEO has been immediately formed, comprising the Chief Operating Officer of Delhi Airport and Chief Security Officer at Hyderabad Airport to investigate the incident,” said P Sripathy, CEO, Hyderabad Airport.Amrita Roy was from Kolkata. She had been living at Attapur with her mother Sudheekha for the past few years.

Amrita Roy, Air Asia employee

By Mouli Mareedu