Hyderabad: Failure of his oxygen mask and safety rope almost killed 108 ambulance service driver V. Chandrashekar Chary when he jumped into a 25-feet deep manhole at Ayyappa Society on August 13 to try and rescue three workers, who died.
Mr Chary was unconscious for 30 minutes and was the first to be pulled out, after an earthmover broke open the manhole to rescue the men.
Narrating the incident, Mr Chary said five minutes after cab driver N. Gangadhar jumped in and failed to respond, he jumped in too. He became unconscious almost immediately, and remembers nothing.
Cyberabad division 108 ambulance service supervisor E. Ratnam said, “On Saturday eve-ning I received a call that three men had fallen in the manhole at Ayyappa Society. We rushed to the site with Mr Chary and medical technician J. Krishna. It had been over 30 minutes since the workers had not responded.”
He added, “It is the duty of an ambulance staffer to help during a rescue, but not by putting their lives at risk. Thus Mr Chary went down with an oxygen mask and a safety rope after Gangadhar failed to respond. The mask did not work and the rope gave way too. Mr Chary was 25 feet down for 30 minutes. The rescue team was then directed to dig open the area. Mr Chary was alive while the rest died. He was rushed to hospital.”
Mr Chary, from Tandur of Ranga Reddy district, was under observation for two days. The 30-year-old driver, who is with the service for five years, is has a boy and a girl studying at Tandur. His wife Uma Chary is a home-maker.
“I was discharged on August 14 and am off duty for a few days. My family wanted me to visit the temple at my home town to thank god for saving me. I felt better after I visited the temple on Monday. I feel I escaped the jaws of death,” Mr Chary said.
