Kollam(Kerala) | An ambulance carrying a patient was blocked, the driver beaten up and the vehicle damaged by three men claiming that their two-wheeler was hit by the emergency service vehicle in this district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at Kottiyam at around 8.45 pm on Tuesday, they added.

The ambulance was going to a private hospital here with a patient from Pathanapuram when the three men blocked it, claiming that the vehicle hit their motorbike, an officer of Kottiyam police station said.

Visuals of the incident aired on TV channels showed the men breaking a side-view mirror of the ambulance, opening its door to attack the driver and hitting the vehicle several times.

They allowed the ambulance to leave only after locals intervened, police said, adding that the patient is fine. The officer said that one of the three men was identified based on the registration number of the two-wheeler.

"But, according to his current mobile tower location, he is outside the state. The other two men with him are unidentified," he said.