Nine-year-old boy in serious condition after falling off bike in Riogordo

A nine-year-old boy is in a very serious condition in the ICU of Malaga's children's hospital after falling off his bicycle near the viewpoint in the Axarquía village of Riogordo. The incident happened late on Thursday, 10 August.

According to sources consulted, the child was admitted to the hospital with head injuries and multiple fractures. Apparently, it was a friend of the victim who alerted the child's mother, after which the emergency services were called, as reported by Cadena Ser radio.

An ambulance from Colmenar was sent to the scene however, while it was transferring the child to hospital, the vehicle broke down. This delayed the child's admission to the ICU by approximately 40 minutes, according to the delegate of medical union SMM in the Axarquía, Juan Carmona.

According to Carmona, the ambulance started to "play up" and then the "clutch exploded", adding that this forced the vehicle to stop in "a very dangerous place on the motorway". The medical staff called the coordination centre and an ambulance from Casabermeja was sent to the scene.

Carmona added that the transfer of the child from one ambulance to the other was carried out under risky conditions, both for the victim and for the workers, due to the dark and the fact that there were hardly any warning signs.

"The problem we have with these vehicles in the Axarquía is very serious and is a daily occurrence. It prevented the child, who was in a very serious condition, from arriving at the hospital 40 minutes earlier than he did," Carmona said.