COVID-19 patient dies on road in Bengaluru waiting for ambulance

In another instance of public services getting overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, an elderly man in Bengaluru, who was waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital, died on the road on Friday. The patient died by the roadside near his house in Hanumantha Nagar, South Bengaluru on Friday evening. In a video, the body of the 65-year-old man was seen lying on a street outside his residence, with his relatives seen standing beside the body.

According to various media reports, the man had developed breathing issues and was getting treatment at his home. As his condition deteriorated, his wife informed the hospital and requested an ambulance. However, since the ambulance was getting late, his family members decided to take him to the hospital by an autorickshaw. But he collapsed on the street as soon as he stepped out of his house.

The ambulance reached the patient's residence after a delay of two hours. 

The BBMP officials have a slightly different version of the incident. The man died on his way to the ambulance, which he requested to stop some distance away from his house as he didn’t want to draw attention to his infection, TOI reported citing the officials. However, the neighbours countered the BBMP claims and said no ambulance came to pick up the patient. “His family members were struggling to mobilise an ambulance from the morning and they stepped out to get at least an autorickshaw. He began walking towards the main road when he collapsed and died. The ambulance came only around 7pm," a neighbour said.