Officials deny claims of oxygen shortage in ambulances

Hyderabad: Denying rumours of shortage of oxygen in ambulances in the Gulzar Houz tragedy, the Director of Public Health Dr B Ravinder Nayak on Monday said that eight ambulances were dispatched to the spot and all were equipped with oxygen.

The Public Health Director clarified that the first patient was shifted from the incident site to Osmania Hospital at 6:25 am in ambulance number TS08UL5682 on Sunday. “In total, 08 ambulances were dispatched to the scene,” he said. Altogether, 15 patients were transported via 108 ambulances to Osmania, CARE, Apollo, and Yashoda hospitals. Every ambulance was equipped with oxygen support,” said Dr Nayak.

The DPH urged not to spread baseless rumours, emphasising that such misinformation can demoralize the health department staff and emergency responders. Dr Nayak stated that the department was immediately alerted about the incident and a team of doctors was promptly sent to the location.

A team of specialist doctors was also kept on standby at Osmania Hospital to provide treatment to the injured. Regrettably, all victims lost their lives in the tragic fire.

However, efforts were made to complete post-mortem procedures swiftly to minimise distress to the families of the deceased.

Following the directions of the Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, senior officials including the Director of Medical Education Dr Narendra Kumar, Vaidya Vidhana Parishad Commissioner Dr Ajaya Kumar, and the Minister himself visited Osmania Hospital early in the morning to review the situation firsthand and to coordinate further action.