Two paramedics are receiving counselling after being hijacked, assaulted and robbed while responding to an apparent distress call in Pretoria.
The assailants used their bank cards to withdraw cash from their accounts. Cellphones and other equipment was also stolen from the Gauteng Emergency Service personnel during the attack at the weekend, reports The Citizen.
Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said an emergency call for an ambulance had been registered for a 48-year-old male who had collapsed due to an unknown condition.
Two men waved to stop the crew when they got close to the address, and then pulled out guns and forced them to drive to an unknown location.
“The occupants living at the address used to log the call reported they never called for an ambulance. Both crew members (male and female) were taken to a shack between bushes where they were tied up while the assailants drove away with the ambulance,” Modiba said.
The crew, who activated the panic button before the hijackers took the ambulance, managed to escape to a nearby squatter camp where they called for help.
All Gauteng EMS operational vehicles, including ambulances, are fitted with camera technology and tracking devices, Modiba said, which had enabled the armed response company to be on the scene within minutes.
The ambulance was recovered a few minutes later in the same area.
A case has been registered with the SA Police Services and the camera footage from the incident handed over to the police.
Under attack
The incident comes two weeks after Dark City clinic healthcare workers were robbed by two men driving a VW Polo while working in Ekangala.
The Gauteng provincial government through the Department of eGovernment is rolling out phase one of the Gauteng panic button, which is being given to healthcare workers and others working in vulnerable sectors.
The Citizen article – Paramedics targeted in violent hijacking in Pretoria (Restricted access)
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