Chairman of the southern Can Tho City People’s Committee has been taken to Ho Chi Minh City by a Defense Ministry helicopter for emergency treatment. The official, Nguyen Thanh Son, 56, who is also deputy secretary of Can Tho City’s Party Committee, boarded a helicopter at 6 am yesterday and, after the vehicle landed at the airport, was taken by ambulance to Cho Ray Hospital. By yesterday night, he was still in a coma in critical condition, doctors said. Earlier that morning, when Son was riding a bicycle for exercise about four kilometers from his home, he suddenly fell off the vehicle to the ground.     Locals who witnessed his accident took him to Can Tho General Hospital, where a CT imaging test showed that he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Doctors later asked for assistance from their counterparts at Cho Ray Hospital, who came and performed minor surgery on the patient before the helicopter was mobilized to take him to HCMC for further treatment. According to Major General Vu Cao Quan, commander of the Can Tho Military Command, it would take much more time to transport Son to HCMC by road than by air, while Son’s condition was very serious and needed medical intervention as soon as possible. Quan said he consulted the Ministry of Defense and the ministry’s leader allowed for a helicopter to be used in transporting Son to HCMC. Doctors at Cho Ray said Son was hospitalized and in a coma that could be a result of the cerebral hemorrhage that had been caused by the burst of a brain aneurysm.  Son has a history of hypertension and high liver enzyme levels, according to the Can Tho authorities. In talking with Tuoi Tre yesterday, Nguyen Quoc Trieu, head of the Central Healthcare Committee, said in recent times a number of high-ranking officials, including two Party Central Committee members,  have been transported by helicopter for medical treatment in emergency cases. At the central level, officials ranking from deputy minister upwards, and at the provincial level, officials belonging to the provincial Standing Committee are eligible to enjoy specific standards of healthcare and medical treatment. At present, there is no regulation on using helicopters to transport officials in case they need to be transported in such way for emergency medical treatment. However, if such a case occurs, provincial and municipal authorities will report the case to the Prime Minister for consideration and resolution, Trieu said.