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>>Sinopec probes staff over report of patient's death
Sinopec, China's biggest oil supplier, fired two gas station workers yesterday after they were found to refuse to fuel an ambulance in their off hours, causing the patient to die before reaching the hospital.
On the rainy night of last Friday, two vehicles pulled up at a Sinopec gas station in Jin'guoping County, Hubei Province despite an out-of-service sign. Several people began to knock at the door and window of the station office, Sinopec said.
The noise reminded the station manager of a gas station robbery not long ago and he dared not to open the door for safety reasons, the company said.
The 57-year-old patient who was unconscious after falling from the third floor of a building, later died en route to the hospital due to an hour's delay at the gas station.
Sinopec spokesman Lu Dapeng said: "Saving life is the overriding priority no matter what the circumstance. The act of refusing to fuel an ambulance is unforgivable."
Every Sinopec gas station has been instructed to fuel ambulances, police cars and fire engines at any time, he added.
Investigation into the case is still ongoing and company officials overseeing the gas station will be punished as well, China News Service reported.
White angels in Chongqing South West Hospital