Lima.- A patient who was being transported in an ambulance died during the road blockades that occurred this Thursday for the fourth consecutive day in the city of Pucallpa, in the Peruvian Amazon, as part of citizen protests over rising fuel prices in the area, official sources reported.
The Regional Health Directorate (Diresa) of the Ucayali region, whose capital is Pucallpa, indicated in a statement that the person was being transferred in an emergency “to receive specialized medical attention“.
“The patient presented with a stroke (CVA) and uncontrolled arterial hypertension, which required a timely evacuation. However, during the transfer, the ambulance was affected by the blockade of the Federico Basadre highway, causing a delay that hindered timely care,” he added.
Local media reported that the patient was being transported from the city of Aguaytía to Pucallpa, but the Federico Basadre highway remained cut off by protesters and the vehicle was blocked by the presence of felled logs and pickets on the road.
Given this, Diresa made “an urgent call to those participating in the mobilizations and to those responsible for the roadblocks to guarantee and respect the free transit of emergency units, ambulances, and health personnel“.
You can also read: Peru confirms an agreement between the FBI and the Police
“Medical attention cannot wait“, said the regional body and expressed its condolences to the patient’s relatives.
More Read
Since last Monday, both in Pucallpa and Iquitos, the capital of the Amazonian region of Loreto, protests and road blockades have been held to demand government measures that ensure the supply of oil and gasoline.
Social organizations and transport unions in Ucayali are demanding action from the government of President Keiko Fujimori in response to the increase in the price of diesel to 24.6 soles per gallon (about 7.27 dollars), double what was reported as of last February, while the price of gasohol rose 53%, to 18.5 soles per gallon (5.47 dollars).
The start of the protest was led by transporters, but the supply problem is already affecting other citizens, with images of very long lines at gas stations in Pucallpa, where inhabitants wait for hours to purchase fuel.
More Read
Fujimori replied that the increase in fuel prices in that area of the country is a consequence of the conflict in the Middle East, but remarked that his Government “will take action on the matter“.
“In the coming days we will provide some proposals to be able to alleviate the situation that is occurring due to the rise in fuel prices,” the president assured.
For his part, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Tourism and Services of Ucayali, Rubén Cerna, warned that the strike has already caused millionaire losses in that region, where the most important port of the Peruvian Amazon is located.
