¾ÅÉ«

Twenty-three Mississippi counties are without regular ambulance service after the only company that provided them coverage went out of business at midnight Thursday.

The state Department of Health said Emergystat went out of business because of a “lack of liability insurance and serious financial problems.”

State Health Officer Dr. Ed Thompson said in a statement that the department was already receiving hundreds of phone calls Wednesday night.

“Many of the affected counties have declared pre-emptive emergency declarations allowing them to seek mutual aid from other counties or other sources,” Thompson said.

The affected counties are spread across the state. They are Amite, Coahoma, Chickasaw, Claiborne, Greene, Holmes, Jefferson, Kemper, Marshall, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Panola, Pearl River, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tunica, Wilkinson, Winston and Yazoo counties.

Officials said residents should continue to call 911 in an emergency.

Topics Mississippi