COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed in Valparai as people watched 20 ambulances, accompanied by police and forest department officials made their way up on the ghat road with sirens blaring and beacons flashing late on Thursday night following an alert that a major accident had taken place between the 13 and 14th hairpin bends of the road. After an hour of search, the teams found out that it was a hoax call. Following their complaint, district police initiated a probe to identify the person who made the fake accident alert.
B Badhusha Khan, president of the Pollachi private ambulance vehicles operators association, said they received a message that a government bus heading to Pollachi from Valparai plunged into a deep gorge between the 13 and 14th hairpin bend of the Valparai Ghat Road around 11.30 . “The alert was given on our WhatsApp group and the caller said many passengers were trapped inside the bus and battling for life.
We experienced a similar accident in 2012. It was a reserve forest and one has to travel around 30 kilometres to reach Pollachi Government Hospital for emergency medical care.
After receiving the alert, we took our vehicles for rescue operation. Ambulances from Anaimalai, Meenatchipuram and 108 ambulances from Anaimalai and Valparai were also alerted and they also reached the spot,” Badhusha Khan said.
A crew member of a 108 ambulance in Valparai said they received an alert from a fellow staff around 11.30 pm and rushed to the spot. “The place to where we rushed was a blind spot and there was no mobile network coverage. After we confirmed that there was no accident, we could not inform others. Everyone knew about it only after reaching the spot.
We are working for the public and rumour-mongers must not play such pranks. It was an unnecessary travel that exhausted us. Such fake alerts will deprive the needy people of our services on time and it could prove fatal,” he worried. All the ambulances returned to Pollachi around 1.30 am on Friday.