SIBU (Sarawak) • A 250kg man in Malaysia who was ill found himself being attended to by 20 people when he needed to be taken to hospital.

The family members of 33-year- old Sia Chie Herng contacted the Fire and Rescue Department for help when he experienced chest pain and difficulty breathing at about 10.20am on Wednesday.

Mr Sia's legs were also swollen, and he had been unable to urinate for a few days. He needed help to be taken to the hospital from his house in Ulu Sungai Merah in Sibu.

A thick cloth and a hardwood board were needed to help firemen and paramedics carry Mr Sia from his house in Sibu to a lorry to transport him to hospital. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

"When we arrived there an hour later, the man was lying down in the living room and unable to move," said Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Farhan Sufyan Borhan.

In a first attempt, seven firemen and two paramedics tried to lift Mr Sia, but he was just too heavy. A five-tonne lorry was dispatched.

Mr Farhan said: "It took us more than 30 minutes to carry him from the house to the lorry, using a thick cloth and a hardwood (board) as support."

They reached the hospital about 11km away at 1pm that day. At the hospital, 12 people took more than 10 minutes to shift him from the lorry to a stretcher.

Mr Sia's mother said he was the younger of her two children.

"Though he is heavy, previously, he could move around slowly with the help of a tetrapod. However, his health deteriorated during the last three to four days, and he needed to be confined to bed," she said.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK