Motorcycle ambulances to offer emergency aid in Kazan

The ambulance service in Kazan, the capital city of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, has been equipped with motorcycle ambulances fitted with all necessary first aid and intensive care tools, the press service of the republican ministry of health told Itar-Tass on Monday. The initiative came from Tatarstan’s president Rustam Minnikhanov. “Such emergency vehicles are used in many countries of the world,” he said. According to Minnikhanov, a motorcycle ambulance is able to respond to a medical emergency much faster than a car or van in heavy traffic, which can increase survival rates for patients. Currently, the ambulance service has two such motorcycles, costing 713,000 roubles each. These motorcycles are built on the base of Japan’s Suzuki at a Nizhny Novgorod-based plant. They will be used to reach traffic accident sites. The only drawback of this type of vehicles is their “seasonal” character - they will not be used in winter periods, the press service noted.