GUWAHATI: An unborn baby died after an ambulance carrying a woman in active labour became stuck in a large pothole on a rain-damaged village road in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, causing a prolonged delay in reaching a healthcare centre, according to reports.
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The 25-year-old woman, identified as Nidhi, went into active labour in the early hours of September 3, following which her family contacted emergency services and called a government ambulance to take her to a local Community Health Centre.
The ambulance reportedly became immobilised after falling into a large pothole on the damaged village link road. Local residents then helped connect the vehicle to a tractor and pull it out. The rescue operation reportedly took around two hours, further delaying the woman's journey to the health centre.
The ambulance eventually reached the Community Health Centre at around 3:30 a.m., where medical staff found that the baby had died in the womb. Doctors immediately operated on Nidhi to stabilise her condition and reportedly said the delay had severely aggravated her condition.
The incident has triggered outrage among local residents, who alleged that the road had been repaired only around six months earlier but deteriorated following recent heavy rains.
Villagers also claimed that they had repeatedly warned authorities about the dangerous condition of the road, but their complaints were allegedly ignored.
Following the incident, health and local administration officials launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death and the ambulance delay. Authorities have also directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to expedite repairs on the damaged road.