Meerut (UP), May 3 (IANS): A middle-aged man died in the ambulance, waiting for medical attention at the Lala Lajpat Rai Medical (LLRM) College in Meerut.

Devendra Singh, 45, a resident of the Ganganagar area in Meerut was rushed to the emergency ward of the hospital on Sunday.

Devendra's condition deteriorated in the morning. He was on oxygen support in the ambulance when he breathed his last.

Heart-wrenching visuals of Devendra lying dead in the ambulance and family members trying to calm down his inconsolable wife, who lost consciousness, have surfaced on social media.

"We had been waiting here for over an hour but there was no one to attend. We got the registration done and spoke to doctors, who said there is neither any bed nor oxygen available. They (doctors) asked us to take our patient somewhere else," said a family member.

Dr Gyanendra Kumar, principal of the LLRM College claimed the hospital has been swamped with patients but no one has been turned away.

"Our emergency has a capacity of 55-50 beds but we have been taking 123-150 patients. We have been administering treatment to patients on the floor. Arrangements may take some time but we have not been denying admission," he said.

Hospital officials claimed there is a huge rush of patients since the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic not only from Meerut but neighbouring districts like Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Saharanpur and NCR and they have been accommodated in the hospital despite limited resources.

The LLRM hospital was recently in news following a brawl between junior doctors and sanitation staff overpacking of bodies.

A group of sanitation staff had allegedly vandalized hospital property and roughed up some junior doctors during the incident.