An ambulance crew in Limpopo was robbed while responding to a false distress call in Dennilton, during the early hours of Wednesday.
“Preliminary reports indicate that the crew was robbed of their belongings, including cellphones, jewellery, and cash, while responding to what appeared to be a distress call from Kgobokwane village in Dennilton at about 1am,” said Limpopo provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
“An ambulance was dispatched from Philadelphia station in Moutse, Sekhukhune District, to the area, and on arrival in the vicinity of the address, the members found two men who got into the ambulance to take them to the scene.”
When the ambulance arrived at a given address, one of the men pulled out a firearm and suddenly, two other assailants emerged.
The assailants forced the emergency medical personnel into the back of the ambulance, and the vehicle was driven to an unknown location where the health officials were robbed of their valuables.
“One of the crew members was also forced to transfer money using her banking app. The suspects then fled scene,” said Ledwaba.
After the ordeal, the medical personnel reported the incident at the local police station and a case of armed robbery was opened.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Major General Jan Scheepers has ordered the district commissioner of Sekhukhune to assemble a team of investigators who are hunting down robbers.
“We strongly condemn this incident, and a team of dedicated investigators is already hard on the ground to trace and arrest the suspects involved in this senseless attack,” said Scheepers.
The police appealed to the community to come forward with information that can assist police in their investigation to contact Crime Stop on 086-001-0111, the nearest police station or to use My SAPS App.
Last year, a Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew was hijacked, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed of their personal cellphones and other working tools while responding to what appeared to be a distress call from Nellmapius, near Mamelodi.
The EMS crew went to the area after an emergency call was registered, purporting that a 48-year-old man had collapsed.
“An ambulance was dispatched to the area from the Mamelodi base and on arrival in the vicinity of the address, two men waved to stop the crew and when the emergency responders stopped to engage them, the men pulled out firearms and forced them to drive to an unknown location,” spokesperson for Gauteng Department of Health, Motalatale Modiba said at the time.
IOL