Ambulance EXPLODES outside Adventist hospital leaving patient dead and paramedic in critical condition
KAILUA, HAWAII: A patient was killed and a paramedic was left injured on Wednesday, August 24 after an ambulance reportedly exploded outside Adventist Health Castle hospital in Kailua, Hawaii.
Rattled EMS Director Dr Jim Ireland at a news conference outside the Kailua hospital late on Wednesday said, the situation outside the hospital is unprecedented, and the cause of the flames that erupted in the ambulance is still unclear to the officials.
ALSO READ
Viral video shows mother monk seal ATTACKING woman who swam too close to her pups
“This is something I’ve never seen before. It’s just very hard to be in the situation where our team is the one who is injured,” Ireland said. “This just happened. It’s a very difficult situation for us,” Ireland told reporters. “We’re all just very concerned about our team and of course the patient who lost their lives tonight in the ambulance.” The director revealed that the patient who died in the explosion was resting in the back of the ambulance where a paramedic, who has been serving for eight years now was managing him. The paramedic was rushed to the Straub Medical Center and is currently in a critical condition.
Apart from the two of them, an Emergency Medical Technician was also treated with some injuries but he is now in stable condition. It is unclear whether anyone else was injured during the incident. A video has emerged of the incident in which plumes of thick smoke can be seen rising out of the ambulance as it tried to enter the health center.
Responding to the explosion, EMS Acting Chief Chris Sloman said it was a difficult night for the whole team. “We ask for everyone’s prayers and thoughts for the family of the patient that’s deceased and for the paramedic that’s been injured in the line of duty,” Sloman said. He added that an investigation has been started by the local police to determine the actual reason behind the explosion and the health center is taking strict action in order to prevent something like this happening in the future.
The Honolulu Fire Department is investigating the blaze and did not immediately have details on what could have happened. Authorities say Ulukahiki Street was shut down because of the incident. Full details about the incident have not yet been released.
