Two ER24 paramedics were held up at knife point on Tuesday morning and robbed of their cellphones and cash at Howick Falls in KwaZulu-Natal.
In a statement, ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said they responded to a call alerting them to an incident of the two paramedics who were on standby at Howick Falls.
“At approximately 09:50 a distress call alerted ER24’s Emergency Contact Centre that the two paramedics on the specialised Paramedic Ambulance were held at knife point and robbed. ER24’s paramedics often standby at the well-known tourist attraction spot near the Howick Falls,” ER24 said.
“The two paramedics were inside their vehicle when they were approached by a young male holding a large knife who ordered them to look down and give him their cell phones and all the cash in their wallets. He also asked them to remove the SIM cards and memory cards from their phones before giving it to him and threatened them to cause severe harm to them if they do not comply.”
The suspect fled with two Samsung cellphones and R110 in cash.
Vermaak said some of the curio shop owners were still busy setting up when the incident took place. There were no tourists or visitors at the spot at the time of the incident.
He said the curio shop owners saw the man running from the ambulance towards the river and up the embankment towards a nearby informal settlement.
They also said this was the fourth incident in the last week involving the same suspect robbing people of their belongings.
“Police were informed along with ER24 area management and the police with dog units as well as patrol units are conducting a search for the suspect,” Vermaak said.
The two paramedics were transported to a nearby Mediclinic to be assessed and receive trauma counselling.
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