A border police officer in the Trieste area saved the life of an Afghan migrant, after the migrant fell ill due to cardiac problems in addition to fatigue and the summer heat.
On Saturday, July 4, a migrant collapsed in San Dorligo della Valle, near Trieste, due to cardiac problems, fatigue and summer heat. Border police provided emergency first aid, saving the migrant's life.
The incident occured in the town of San Dorligo in the Karst Plateau. The man from Afghanistan was stopped by border police together with a group of men as part of the "Safe Streets" programme along the Italian-Slovenian border.
Intervention by police
The migrants were rounded up by police and seated in safety as they waited for a police van to take them to the border police station in Fernetti for identification procedures.
Suddenly, one of the seated migrants collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness. At that point, one of the border officers, Lorena Scaffidi, who had been trained in basic life support (BLS), began administering CPR. After the second round of chest compressions, the man began breathing on his own.
Saved by CPR
A police statement said an ambulance from the Trieste local health department arrived shortly after, and checked the man's vital signs. Medical personnel said the man suffered from heart problems, and that the fatigue of the journey and the summer heat could have contributed to his life-threatening collapse.
They said his life was likely saved by CPR. The migrant was taken by ambulance to Cattinara Hospital, where he is still hospitalized.