When it took 15 people to shift man to hospital

LONDON - At least 15 muscular firemen and ambulance staff had a tough time shifting a man from his house to a nearby hospital in Britain, as he weighed 190 kg.

Paramedics were called to the home of Alexander Sutherland-Jones, 38, when he became ill with a viral infection. But they were unable to remove the morbidly obese patient from his semi-detached house in Kent county.

A fire crew and police had to be called, and, after firemen had cut away part of the stairs, they managed to carry him outside, Daily Mail reported Friday.

He was placed in a specially-adapted ambulance; strong enough to support his weight and taken to nearby Darent Valley hospital to be treated for a viral infection.

A close friend said: “He used to be active and healthy. But he has been struck down with a serious hereditary disease which has caused his weight to balloon.”

“Alex is very ill right now and still in hospital. He caught a virus from his carer and the emergency services had to cut away at his stairs to get him out the house,” the friend added.

“It took more than two hours to carry him out of the house and get him in the ambulance,” said a neighbour after neighbours in the street woke up in the early hours due to the noise caused by ambulances and police cars to help in the shifting.