A woman gave birth to a girl inside a Fire Service van while being shifted to hospital in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, which recorded heavy and strong winds under the impact of super cyclone ‘Amphan’ on Wednesday morning
At 9 a.m., the Mahakalapada fire station received a call about the woman experiencing labour pain and the blocking of the road to her house by uprooted trees. By then, the family members of 20-year-old Janaki Sethi had made frantic calls seeking an ambulance but none came.
“The family members made best efforts to contact ambulance services. They had lost all hopes. On receipt of information, our two teams rushed with equipment to the spot,” said P. K. Dash, Deputy Fire Officer.
The Fire Service personnel cleared 22 fallen trees, using power saws, to reach the woman’s house.
“The lady was undergoing severe labour pain and the team immediately picked her up . However, on the way to the Community Health Centre (CHC), Mahakalapada, she gave birth to a girl inside the vehicle,” said Mr. Dash.
The team tried its best to provide assistance to both the mother and the baby, Mr. Dash added. They took the duo to the Community Health Centre.
“The timely and dedicated effort of Fire Service personnel saved the two precious lives. They brought both the mother and the newborn safely to the hospital in an emergency situation like this. Both the mother and the child are doing fine,” said Dr. D. N. Malla, a doctor at the CHC.
Moments captured
Dramatic moments of the rescue of the woman, clearance of the fallen trees and the admission of the mother and the baby in hospital were captured by the Fire Service personnel.
Special Relief Commissioner P. K. Jena said that as part of disaster management strategy, pregnant women got top priority in evacuation.
As many as 1,885 women, who were in the advance stages of pregnancy, had been shifted to different hospitals in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts well before ‘Amphan’ started impacting the coast. ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers were assigned to identify these women and facilitate their shifting.
