five people were injured in an accident on the ring road near benissa after a car carrying horses and a caravan collided head-on. Traffic on the N-332 through Benissa increased the urgency of responders, according to the Traffic Police. One of the injured was in serious condition and was evacuated by a medicalized helicopter operated by SAMU. Because Alicante General Hospital could not land on its helipad, the patient was transported to La Fe Hospital in Valencia for definitive care. [Source: Traffic Police, SAMU, Civil Guard]
The incident occurred around noon, when the N-332 route intersects the municipality of Benissa on its ring road. Investigators from the Civil Guard indicated that a tourist vehicle collided head-on with a caravan transporting horses and an accompanying animal. [Source: Civil Guard]
due to the impact five people were injured: three with minor injuries, one serious case, and one with a guarded prognosis. [Source: Civil Protection]
Five teams from the Alicante Fire Provincial Consortium attended the scene, deployed from the Dénia and Benissa stations, with seven firefighters, a corporal, and a sergeant participating. Firefighters worked to free a trapped person, and at the request of the CICU, the Alpha 9 helicopter was directed to the site to provide on-scene medical aid. SAMU and SVB Benissa Local Police were on site along with Provincial Firefighters Consortium members and Civil Traffic Guards. [Source: CICU, SAMU, SVB]
SAMU continued to stabilize the most seriously injured person. Given the patient’s condition, CICU requested permission to land on the helipad at Alicante General Hospital, but the request was denied. The patient was instead transported to La Fe University Hospital in Valencia for immediate care. [Source: CICU]
The issue at Alicante General Hospital’s helipad has persisted for years. Although the landing facility is installed, bureaucratic steps still delay its use, leading SAMU to perform road transfers to fires stations in San Vicente or Alicante during the busier summer period. Emergency department sources note that many patients in critical condition require immediate helicopter transport, and delaying ground transfer can adversely affect outcomes, sometimes meaning the difference between life and death. [Source: Hospital Emergency Department]