The skies above Saigon may receive an addition in the future: ambulance helicopters.
VnExpress reports that the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation tested the landing pad atop an unnamed 36-story highrise on Nguyen Hue Street, presumably the Times Square building, on Friday morning.
It is the only private structure that has received permission from the Ministry of Defense to handle ambulance helicopters, according to the news source.
After completing technical inspections the corporation will draw up a plan for the service, though there is no mention of a timeline or where funding will come from.
The effort is aimed at facilitating emergency healthcare, as ambulances routinely get stuck in traffic on Saigon's congested streets. VnExpress shares that fines of VND500,000-1.2 million can be imposed on drivers who fail to give way to emergency vehicles, but this regulation is rarely enforced.
Past suggestions for improving emergency vehicle travel times have included ambulance motorbikes and using traffic police to accompany ambulances through traffic.
[Photo via VNHS]
