Acting Sub-Lieutenant Wattanasin Rinjoi, head of the Sattha Ruam Jai Chiang Mai Rescue Association, reported that a week of panic-buying has wiped out diesel stocks at every pump in Sanpatong and neighbouring districts. Fresh deliveries sell out almost immediately, leaving several of the association’s rescue vehicles stranded.
As of today, the unit has no fuel to operate. Two rescue vehicles have been sent to queue at a petrol station in hopes of refuelling and returning to service as quickly as possible.
Wattanasin warned that the crisis has life-or-death consequences — every drop of diesel is, as he put it, the breath of a patient. Any rationing measures, he cautioned, will ripple across emergency response units nationwide. He called on petrol stations to set aside dedicated quotas for emergency medical vehicles, so that accident victims and critical patients are not left waiting while the pumps run dry.
