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Paramedics who responded to calls for medical assistance had to flee before reaching patients when they were attacked by an angry mob in the informal Lions River settlement near Howick on Friday night.
This included a team from St Michael’s Ambulance Services arriving in the area just before midnight only to have to flee and run to Howick Police Station for safety.
Operations manager Charles Newborn said that as the crew approached the patient’s home, they were attacked by an angry mob that threw rocks at the ambulance and then physically struck the vehicle as it tried to enter.
Once the paramedics escaped the mob, they were pursued by a local car, which had several occupants inside. They drove straight to Howick SAPS for safety with the car chasing them until just before they reached their destination.
Newborn said there were two paramedics in the ambulance when the incident occurred. He said they did not know what was the motive for the attack, but when they arrived at the police station they learned that another ambulance that had been in the area 30 minutes earlier had also to flee from the same mob.
“The calls were genuine and the crews responded to two different cases, but unfortunately neither of them were able to get help due to the attacks.”
He said the mob hit the car and tried to get in, but he wasn’t sure if they wanted to steal it or take what was inside.
“It was quite scary for the crew because they said the mob came out of nowhere, but luckily they managed to escape,” Newborn said.
He said the sad thing about the ordeal was that patients were deprived of medical assistance because paramedics could not reach them.
