SIVAGANGA: A pregnant woman and her mother died on the spot after a 108 ambulance crashed into a tamarind tree at Sengulam village in the early hours of Friday. Chief Minister M K Stalin, later in the day, announced a solatium of`2 lakh each for the legal heirs of the deceased. Sources said Nivedha (21), wife of Nenjathur-resident Kumaresan, developed labour pain in the wee hours and boarded the ambulance around 4 am with her mother Vijayalakshmi (55) and relative Thiruselvi (31).
"On their way to Sivaganga government hospital, driver Malaiarasan (27) lost control of the ambulance on Sivaganga-Ilayangudi road and hit the tree. Nivedha and Vijayalakshmi died on the spot, while Malaiarasan, Thiruselvi and ambulance staff Sathya sustained severe injuries in the incident," they added.
Upon information, Sivaganga Taluk police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to Sivaganga GH for postmortem. The injured trio was also admitted to the same hospital. A team of doctors, including GH Dean Revathi Balan, gynaecologists and podiatrists, tried their best to save the unborn child, but their efforts proved futile. Malaiarasan and Sathya were later shifted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
Collector P Madhusudhan Reddy told TNIE that police and also officials from other departments have begun inquiries. "Let the driver and medical staff recover from trauma. Only then we can understand what really happened. The public knows well the exceptional service record of 108 ambulances. This is a one-off incident," he added.
A police case has been filed under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code. Superintendent of Police Senthil Kumar said Malaiarasan should not be blamed for the incident. "He may have been speeding only to ensure that the woman, who was suffering severe labour pain, received medical care at the earliest. Also, many parts of the road were waterlogged due to rain," he told TNIE.