An ambulance crew was attacked with stones, sticks and axes in a Transylvanian village after residents reportedly mistook the emergency vehicle for one allegedly linked to an online kidnapping rumour.
Angry Transylvanian villagers attack emergency vehicle with stones, sticks and axes
The incident took place on Saturday evening in Recea-Cristur, a village in Transylvania region’s Cluj County around 40 kilometres from the city of Dej.
Romania’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that the ambulance was attacked amid unfounded rumours circulating on TikTok about so-called “black ambulances” allegedly being used by organ traffickers to abduct children. The ambulance driver suffered a serious eye injury during the attack.
Ambulance blocked by two cars
The Cluj County Ambulance Service vehicle had travelled to Recea-Cristur to collect a patient. According to the accounts cited by Romanian authorities, the crew encountered hostility as soon as they arrived in the village. Residents reportedly filmed the ambulance on their mobile phones while the crew was trying to find the patient’s address.
The situation escalated when two cars were allegedly used to block the ambulance in the centre of the Transylvanian village, forcing the vehicle to stop. Several people then reportedly attacked the ambulance using stones, sticks and axes.
The emergency crew’s doctor said they may have faced an even more serious situation had the driver not managed to turn the ambulance around and escape in the opposite direction.
Driver taken to operating theatre
After the crew reached hospital in Dej, the ambulance driver also required medical treatment. A fragment of the vehicle’s shattered windscreen reportedly struck the driver’s eye and injured the cornea. The driver subsequently underwent surgery.
The incident has highlighted the potentially serious consequences of rumours targeting emergency services, particularly when false claims spread rapidly through social-media platforms.
Authorities link attack to TikTok rumours
Police said the attack in Transylvania was connected to unfounded rumours circulating on TikTok claiming that organ traffickers were travelling around Romanian communities in ambulances in order to abduct children.
Romanian authorities have repeatedly rejected the claims and urged the public to rely on verified information from official sources rather than unconfirmed social-media posts.
The Romanian Interior Ministry issued another warning on Sunday, publishing screenshots of three TikTok posts promoting claims about the so-called “black ambulance”.
According to the ministry, photographs used in the posts as supposed “warnings” had been manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence.
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Authorities: no recorded case of an ambulance being used for kidnapping
In its warning, Romania’s Interior Ministry said that the country had never recorded a case in which an ambulance was used to abduct people.
The ministry stressed that ambulances are operated by medical professionals whose role is to save lives, and warned that misinformation can have consequences beyond simply causing public anxiety.
False rumours, it said, can place emergency workers in danger when they are responding to calls for help. The authorities therefore urged members of the public not to share alarming claims without checking their authenticity.
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Misinformation puts emergency workers at risk
For ambulance crews, reaching a patient quickly can be a matter of life and death. Any attempt to block an emergency vehicle, intimidate its crew or prevent it from leaving an area can potentially delay medical assistance.
In this case, according to the authorities and the medical workers’ account, the ambulance crew was able to escape and reach the hospital, but the driver sustained a serious injury in the process.
Romanian officials have once again called on the public to verify information before sharing it online, warning that manipulated images and AI-generated content can make false stories appear credible.
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