Opinion

Huge sympathy over ambulance crashes

There will be considerable concern that ambulances were caught up in two separate crashes while responding to emergency calls in different parts of Co Antrim yesterday morning.

A patient and two crew members needed hospital treatment after a collision with a van outside Portrush while there were no serious injuries in an accident involving a car in the Whiteabbey area.

The full circumstances surrounding the two incidents have yet to be established, but everyone will be aware of the risks faced by our emergency services as they carry out their vital duties on behalf of the entire community.

Accidents of this kind are thankfully rare, and there will be enormous sympathy for the ambulance staff and ordinary road-users who suffered traumatic experiences yesterday.