KZN HEALTH MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu is shocked by an attack on paramedics, who were shot and wounded during a fake emergency.
The two workers were rushed to hospital after they were injured during a robbery at Matikwe Section in Inanda, north of Durban yesterday.
According to the MEC, the ambulance driver and his woman crew member responded to a call early yesterday morning about a woman in labour, but it turned out they were set up.
Simelane-Zulu called the attack barbaric. “At the scene, they found a man who pretended to lead them to the patient.
“The man led them down a small gravel road, pulled out a gun and started robbing them.” She said the paramedics managed to escape, but the driver was shot in the back. The woman’s wrist was injured.
She said they were saved by police who were patrolling in the area.
“We are very angry about what happened. It is unbelievable that someone sat down and planned to lure our paramedics so that he could rob them. This person took advantage of their caring and responsive nature.”
She said it was difficult to judge whether an emergency call was fake or real.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele said cases of attempted murder and robbery were being investigated by Inanda police.