Number of road accidents surge during Eid holidays

Rescue 1122 DG lauds rescuers who performed duty on Eid days

LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) responded to 6,985 emergencies and rescued 7,310 emergency victims in all 36 districts of Punjab during Eid holidays.

The emergency ambulance, rescue and fire services responded to 2,886 emergencies of road traffic crashes, 3,043 medical emergencies, 161 crime incidents, 55 fire incidents, nine drowning and 831 other emergencies such as delivery cases, fall from the height, electric shock and occupational injuries.



While presiding over a meeting at Emergency Services Headquarters on Friday, Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer expressed serious concern over a surge in the number of road traffic crashes (RTCs) on Eid holidays in which over 3,394 were injured and 19 people died. A total of 433 victims received head injuries, 200 multiple fractures, 553 Single fractures, 65 spinal injuries were reported during Eid holidays, whereas, 2,143 victims with minor injuries were provided first aid on the spot by the medical teams of Rescue 1122.

Head of Operations of Rescue 1122 Ayaz Aslam briefed the DG that emergency plans for Eid were implemented in close coordination with deputy commissioners in all the districts of Punjab. He further briefed that 9,907 rescuers performed Eid duties in three shifts. He said 550 key points were established across Punjab including 250 key points of emergency vehicles and 300 motorcycle ambulances.

Besides that 200 mobile rescue posts were also established in all the districts of Punjab. In this regard, emergency ambulance, fire and rescue vehicles were deployed at all major Eid prayer sites and sensitive areas along with trained emergency staff to provide immediate pre-hospital emergency cover across Punjab.

The head of Provincial Monitoring Cell (PMC) informed the director general that higher number of emergencies occurred in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and DG Khan in Eid days. The Emergency Service Lahore responded to 1055 emergencies including 581 road traffic crashes. Faisalabad responded to 636 emergencies including 273 RTCs, Gujranwala dealt 472 emergencies with 189 RTCs, Multan responded to 451 emergencies with 232 RTCs and DG Khan handled 336 emergencies including 81 RTCs during Eid Holidays.



DG Rescue Punjab said that road traffic crashes are significantly increasing on such event like Eids, and 14 August etc but it is the responsibility of all of us to drive carefully and abide by Road Safety laws to minimize the risk of road traffic accidents as nothing is important than human life. He also requested the public to timely call at 1122 in case of an emergency as the only timely emergency call can ensure timely emergency response to any incident. Dr Rizwan Naseer also appreciated the rescuers, whose leaves were cancelled and who performed duty on Eid holidays by sacrificing their own Eid.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2018.