Rescue 1122 director general urges people to shun reckless driving

8,265 people given emergency care in 7,033 incidents during Eid holidays.

LAHORE: As many as 8,265 people were given emergency care in 7,033 incidents by Rescue 1122 teams during Eid holidays, Rescue 1122 director general Rizwan Naseer said on Tuesday.

He was speaking to the media after a meeting on Tuesday.

Of the 7,033 incidents, 2405 were medical emergencies, 360 traffic accidents, 71 house fires, 257 injuries in street crime, 12 building collapse accidents and 24 drowning incidents.  The number of deaths documented by the Rescue 1122 was 187. Those injured included 486 with head injury, 99 with spinal injury and 838 with bone fracture.

A district-wise break down of emergencies showed that 919 incidents were reported in Lahore (586 road accidents), 600 in Faisalabad (356 road accidents), 443 in Gujranwala (222 road accidents), 431 in Multan (221 road accidents) and 287 in Rawalpindi (168 road accidents).

Rescue 1122 DG Naseer expressed concerns over the loss of lives and injuries in incidents of one-wheeling by motorcyclists. He told the meeting that 40 such incidents were reported to the service during Eid holidays. He did not give a number for fatal injuries.

Earleir, the Provincial Monitoring Cell officials briefed the meeting about the emergency plans prepared and executed by Rescue teams in collaboration with district governments. The meeting was told that ambulances and fire fighting vehicles were stationed and rescue mobile posts set up near major public places in all cities of the province. Naseer said most road accidents were caused by reckless driving and urged the public to follow all rules and regulations while driving on the road.

“Strict enforcement of road and life safety regulations is needed to control the number of road accidents in the province,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2015.