Local youth rise to the occasion

They shift the victims to hospitals on bikes and autorickshaws

Bravehearts: The youths picked up people and rushed them to safer areas on their vehicles before going back to help others.

A girl, aged around five, opened her eyes at the 30-bed hospital at Gopalapatnam. Bewildered by her surroundings, she looked around in a daze as a doctor and nurse attended to her.

The girl, a resident of RR Venkatapuram, was among the survivors of the gas leak.

“Someone brought her here, placed her on the bed and left. We do not even know who are her parents are or her relatives. Her condition was critical when she was brought here. We managed to rescue her and she is out of danger now,” said a doctor at the hospital, while going from one patient’s bed to another.

Local youths step up

Many local youths rose to the occasion and rushed people to hospital. Many youths took children and others to safer places on their two-wheelers and left them on the highway about five kilometres away from RR Venkatapuram.

A young man with a handkerchief tied around his bloody wrist was seen outside the hospital.

“I broke a window pane to rescue someone and injured my wrist in the process. Had we received the information a little earlier, we could have rescued more people,” said the youth, who left before he could be asked for his name. He was in a hurry to get back to the affected area and see if there were more people that were in need of help.

Good Samaritans

Heartrending scenes were witnessed at King George Hospital (KGH) where more than 100 people were admitted in different wards.

The hospital witnessed a long stream of ambulances, APSRTC buses and police vehicles, ferrying people affected by the gas leak. Auto-rickshaw drivers too joined in the efforts.

“We looked for people lying on the roads and shifted them to hospital. Many people have been separated from their families, particularly children, and we will unite them later,” said police inspector Raghuveer Vishnu.

Announcements were made on loudspeakers from the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba temple at Appayyanagar, about five kilometres away from the mishap site at around 9 a.m., urging people to remain indoors.

VMRDA Chairman Dronamraju Srinivas said that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had directed authorities to rush the victims to nearby private and corporate hospitals, apart from KGH.

Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, who rushed to KGH, assured all possible means of treatment to the victims.