KOCHI: One of the newborns suffering from birth related ailments rushed to a hospital here died on the way on Sunday, due to negligence on the part of government officials responsible for emergency transportation, the victim’s family alleged. The boy from Lakshadweep died after precious time was lost when the air ambulance diverted route as per last minute instructions from authorities concerned.

The deceased was one of the twins born to Maleeha, wife of Mohammed Shafi, a resident of Androth island. She delivered the twins, a boy and a girl, at the Rajiv Gandhi Specialty Hospital, Agatti, in Lakshadweep. The hospital authorities referred him to a private multi-specialty hospital in Kochi as the boy was found to suffer from serious conditions at birth.

The hospital arranged the air ambulance service, which was introduced recently to transfer patients from Lakshadweep to Kochi during an emergency. Grandfather Mohammed Kasim and Shafi accompanied the infant. A medical escort was also arranged by the hospital.

As the chopper was about to take off, the Lakshadweep administration instructed the pilot to take along four people, who had reached Agatti from Kerala on a flight, to Kavaratti before proceeding to Kochi with the ailing boy. The helicopter, which has a seating capacity of 10, was diverted to Kavaratti with nine people on board. The health condition of the child worsened along the route. The air ambulance took 15 minutes to reach Kavaratti. After dropping the four, the chopper headed to Kochi and reached there at 1.10am, late by about 45 minutes than the scheduled time.

Following the deterioration of the child’s condition, medical escort Hussain directed the pilot to rush him to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, by the time the chopper reached the Little Flower Hospital in Angamaly, the child had died. If the baby reached the hospital at least 10 minutes earlier, his life could have been saved, according to medical escort Hussain.