Ambulance with patient catches fire in Prakasam district

TIRUPATI: An ambulance carrying a patient for dialysis caught fire in Raja Saheb Peta under Pamur mandal of Prakasam district late on Monday night.

Pamur sub-inspector K. Srinivas said the 108 ambulance had been transporting a dialysis patient from Raja Saheb Peta village to a hospital. After covering a short distance, the ambulance driver Tirupati Rao noticed smoke in the cabin. He immediately brought the vehicle to a complete stop.

He and his colleague Madhusudhan Reddy assisted the patient and his mother travelling with him in getting down.

“The fire may have erupted due to a short circuit. It spread throughout the vehicle, due to which an oxygen cylinder in the ambulance exploded. This led to burning embers falling on a nearby tobacco shed. The whole tobacco, worth approximately ₹20 lakhs, got burnt,” the SI said.

A local person Varadaiah (36) tried to extinguish the fire in the godown and suffered burn injuries. He has been taken to the hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable.