British boy injured at eatery died waiting as ambulance never came

A three-year-old British boy who was mortally injured by a heavy room partition at a local restaurant was declared dead after waiting for an ambulance that never came, at a hospital where doctors said they didn't have adequate emergency equipment, according to the restaurant staff who accompanied the boy and his mother.

The boy had been turned away earlier by another hospital that said it was ill-equipped to treat him.

The accident happened Monday night at the Kervan Orient Express in a new section of the restaurant that had not opened yet to the general public, according to a statement released by the restaurant yesterday on Sina Weibo.

Restaurant staff said the boy was with his mother at a private party of about 10 diners. The boy was playing with a seven-year-old girl inside the restaurant, said Sun Ying, the restaurant manager.

The boy's family is originally from Turkey.

According to witnesses, the boy accidently fell down while playing and touched the partition screen, which fell and hit him in the head.

The partition is taller than an adult, about 2 meters long, made of glass and wood and "quite heavy,'' according to a waiter who declined to be named.

Sun called for an ambulance at 8:10pm but went out to get a taxi as they feared an ambulance would take too long. The boy's mother, the restaurant owner and Sun got into the taxi with the boy.

Arriving at the Shuguang Hospital about five or six blocks away, they were told by a security guard that the hospital did not have an emergency room.

A private car driver rushed them to the nearest hospital, Huangpu District Central Hospital, according to Sun. They arrived by about 8:20pm.

After checking the boy, however, doctors at the hospital said they also didn't have the necessary equipment or medicine to treat the boy and suggested the parents transfer him to a better-equipped hospital.

A head nurse dialed 120 to call for an ambulance, while doctors were trying to save the boy by injecting a shot of adrenalin into him, Sun said.

The boy was not operated on and was finally pronounced dead around 9pm as they waited for an ambulance, according to the statement.

The restaurant contacted the Turkey's Consulate, which reached out to Turkish Airlines. The airline said it would return the boy's body to Turkey without charge, Sun said.