VISAKHAPATNAM: The ongoing 108 ambulance strike reportedly resulted in the death of a three-month-old baby, who succumbed due to lack of timely medical treatment.
The incident occurred on Tuesday late night at Burugu Chetru, an interior village in Paderu, Visakhapatnam district. The baby’s parents, unaware of the 108 strikes, waited in vain for the ambulance to take their baby to the hospital.
According to the family members, the baby had developed breathlessness and fell sick. The parents approached the ASHA workers for ambulance service and also tried in vain calling the 108 ambulance service. “When we called the 108 ambulances, the staff said they were busy and cannot come, but we did not know that they were on strike. Such is our financial condition, we couldn’t afford to hire a private ambulance,” a family member said. Responding to the incident, Circle Inspector (CI) Paderu G Prem Kumar said, “We sent our staff to inquire into the incident.”