Bombay (AFP)

Crowded bodies, patients forced to share the same bed ... in Bombay, facing a sanitary system overwhelmed by the coronavirus, three young people, at the head of an ambulance company, help transport the sick .

Even if using this nonprofit organization costs only a handful of dollars, many residents of the overcrowded slums of this Indian megalopolis cannot afford its services.

Aditya Makkar, 20, had the idea to create HelpNow three years ago. That day, his father, who suffered a cardiac arrest, was told that he had to wait 47 minutes before the arrival of a public ambulance.

Fortunately, his family owned a car and he was able to receive medical treatment quickly.

But in this city of 18 million inhabitants, where the skyscrapers inhabited by the richest rise not far from the shacks of the slums, many are not so lucky.

Faced with this observation, Mr. Makkar teamed up with two ex-classmates from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, aged like him, in their twenties, to collect funds to transform vans into ambulances. Since last year, they have been roaming the streets of the Indian economic capital.

Before the new coronavirus epidemic, HelpNow received around 800 calls per month and charged between 600 and 5,000 rupees (7 to 59 euros), depending on the distance and the equipment required. An amount to cover costs.

Once the new coronavirus started to hit Bombay, demand peaked, reflecting the widespread shortage of resources in this city where health infrastructure is overwhelmed.

Morgues, hospitals and ambulances are operating at full capacity.

The number of calls received by HelpNow - more than 4,000 last week --- is "far beyond our expectations and what we were prepared for", recognizes Mr. Makkar who does not give up his smile and of his energy, intact despite exhaustion.

He has hired ten people to answer phone calls and plans to acquire 25 new vehicles to complete his 347 fleet. His goal is now that anywhere in Bombay, an ambulance can arrive in 15 minutes or less.

- "Exhausting but satisfactory" -

The pressure is particularly intense for drivers who, equipped with head-to-toe protective gear, drive HelpNow's red and white ambulances.

"From the coronavirus, I work 14 to 16 hours a day. Before, I worked eight-hour days," says Alam Shaikh, a driver who describes his work as "exhausting but satisfactory".

Employees who, like him, are in direct contact with infected people, are likely to contract the virus.

The ambulances - equipped with ventilators and oxygen systems - are disinfected after each intervention, recalls Mr. Makkar.

But despite this, the fear remains. If Mr. Shaikh, 32, said he did not fear for his health, he explained that he had not seen his family for several weeks so as not to take the risk of contaminating them.

But for him, there is no doubt, in such circumstances, it is at the wheel of an ambulance that is his place.

India has experienced an increase in infections in recent weeks, with 175,000 cases including 5,000 fatalities.

On Saturday, the government announced significant easing of containment, with the exception of particularly affected regions and cities, such as Bombay.

Experts are worried about the case of this city, because of the density of its population which makes it an ideal place of spread for the epidemic.

"A poor person cannot afford this disease," says Imroz Mansoor Khan, a food delivery driver who fears being infected.

23 years old, he says that if he falls ill, he will not be able to call on a private ambulance.

With HelpNow, which offers only ten trips per day to patients who cannot pay, this service remains largely out of reach.

"This is the end goal ... to provide a totally free, fastest and safest medical response possible," says Makkar, seeking donations to fund more free services.

© 2020 AFP