Thane accident claims unborn baby

Mumbai: A 35-year-old woman from Malegaon lost her eight-month-old foetus after the ambulance in which she was travelling to a Mumbai hospital rammed into a divider in Thane near the Mulund East toll naka on Sunday morning. The lady, Tankila Ahmed, is in a critical condition at the civic-run Sion Hospital.

According to Rajawadi hospital officials, five others, including Ms. Ahmed’s husband Mustaq, mother Khalida Rashid, brother Akil Ahmed, nephew Mohammad Shadab, and the driver of the ambulance were injured. Her six-year-old son escaped unhurt.

Ms. Ahmed was referred to J.J. Hospital as her pregnancy was a high-risk one owing to a pre-existing heart condition and the Malegaon civil hospital lacked adequate facilities. The accident occurred on her way to J.J. Hospital in Byculla.

The injured were rushed to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. Ms. Ahmed was transferred to Sion Hospital, as a foetal scan revealed no movement or sound in her womb.

A Sion hospital doctor said Ms. Ahmed was on a ventilator. “We will have to do a procedure to remove the dead foetus. However, we are waiting for the patient to stabilise,” he said.

An official at Rajawadi said among the other five injured, Mr. Akil Ahmed received injuries to the face, Ms. Rashid had a head injury, and the driver fractured his right hand and foot. “They are stable and receiving treatment. Mustaq Ahmed and Mohammad Shadab received minor injuries to the right leg and face, and were treated in the OPD,” he said.

The ambulance left for Mumbai at 1 a.m. on Sunday and took a break at Kasara. The vehicle rammed into a divider at 7 a.m. “I just heard a massive crash and I blanked out instantly. The seat of the ambulance had fallen on top of my wife, and she was unconscious,” Mr. Ahmed said.

The Thane police have registered an FIR against the driver, Shakur Baig, on account of rash driving and negligence causing grievous harm.