A poster demanding compensation for the families of the dead and the injured. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Calcutta, April 5: Shweta Shaw’s life might not have been so cruelly cut short at 10 had she been an accident victim in Delhi or Bangalore.

But Shweta, who was on the bus that plunged into the Lower Bagjola Canal yesterday, was robbed of a last chance to live because Calcutta does not have an emergency medical service (EMS).

The girl was still breathing when volunteers dragged her out of the bus. But her little lungs gave way while she was being taken to hospital.

Sanghamitra Roy, too, had been rescued alive. The 45-year-old died on way to a private nursing home, about 20 minutes away.

“She was breathing when we pulled her out of the water. But while we were rushing her to a nursing home, she died in front of our eyes and nothing could be done,” said Ratan Sarkar, one of the volunteers.

Shweta, Sanghamitra and some other victims could have been saved had a team trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) been sent in an ambulance to the spot.

CPR, an important component of any emergency medical service, is a procedure applied to victims of cardiac or respiratory arrest. It involves chest compression and other techniques. It helps maintain a flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and the heart, thereby delaying tissue death and increasing the chance of successful resuscitation later without permanent brain damage.

“In cases of respiratory distress, borderline patients can be saved with CPR,” said critical care expert Subrata Maitra.

Ambulance providers, private hospitals and voluntary organisations in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and other Indian cities have the EMS system in place. But Calcutta is yet to wake up to its need.