Baripada: A tribal woman and her unborn child died while being shifted from a community health centre to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Baripada after the ambulance ferrying them ran out of fuel midway.
According to the husband of the deceased Chittaranjan Munda, his wife Tulasi complained of labour pain Friday. He got her admitted at Bangiriposi community health centre (CHC).
“After a check-up the doctor asked me to take her to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital. On our way to the medical college, the ambulance ran out of fuel mid way. The Aanganwadi worker then called up another ambulance. The ambulance took an hour to reach the spot. Upon reaching the medical college, the doctors there declared her dead on arrival,” rued Munda who hails from Hanada village in Mayurbhanj district.
Local residents criticised the gross negligence on part of the driver suggesting the amount of fuel in the vehicle must have been known to him.
“The ambulance driver went to the village without a refill. Had he filled the tank, two precious lives could have been saved. Besides, the huge delay in arrival of the replacement ambulance is unforgivable,” they said.
Registering a case, police handed over the body to the bereaved family after postmortem.
PNN