RIYADH: Since coming into operation 11 months ago, air ambulances in Riyadh have made 160 flights for assisting 185 motor accident victims. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, the Red Crescent's supervisor of air ambulance operations in Riyadh, said the air response unit had its own central operations room where it receives reports and has aircraft airborne within ten minutes. “We currently have two aircraft in operation, and they are based at Al-Thamama Airstrip and Al-Iman Hospital,” Al-Ghamdi said. “We get around three reports a day and a team of a medic and assistant, along with the flight crew, are sent out.” He said that despite the many advantages of transporting accident victims straight to hospital by air, there are still some drawbacks. “Problems are often created by people crowding around the aircraft to look, particularly if the accident is within the city or along a main highway. Poor visibility can also be problematic, caused by high levels of sand and dust in the air.”
