The rescue operation in
Theni has brought together various agencies such as police, revenue, forest and volunteer organisations. While all of them gave their best, S Jegadeesan, a 108
ambulance driver, played a crucial role in unravelling the magnitude of the calamity, which expedited the government machinery to jump into the rescue operation faster.
Jegadeesan managed to reach the fire ravaged parts of
Kolukkumalai near
Kurangani. He shot videos of people waiting for rescue using his mobile phone and sent it to the authorities. Soon, the videos were telecasted in TV channels too, forcing the authorities to act quickly.
It all started when one of the survivors,
Niveditha, called up 108 ambulance service seeking help.
Jegadeesan stationed on Theni police station premises was alerted. Jegadeesan told TOI that he reached the foothills before 4 pm and managed to reach the victims in oneand-a-half hours, exhausting all his energy. It was not an easy task to reach the spot as there were flames here and there. “When I reached there, victims were pleading me to shift them to hospitals in feeble voices. Some gave me the phone number of their near and dear ones to inform them about their condition. Some kept asking for water,” he said.
Most of the injured were found inside a deep pit. They might have fallen into it while scampering away in order to save their lives from the raging fire. “I spoke to the district collector and narrated the situation,” he said.
He has never gone through such a traumatic tragedy in his four-year career with 108 ambulance service. It was a long day for Jegadeesan who had to keep himself awake to serve as many people as possible. He worked continuously throughout the following day shifting the injured people to various hospitals.
Jegadeesan, 32, has completed Class XII and was working as a medical representative for a few years, before taking up the job of an ambulance driver.
Jegadeesan
