No road for ambulance, medical staffers reach patient riding coracles

Coimbatore, Oct 29: Emergency service providers are always on their toes to ensure that they never fall short of their responsibility for the slightest of carelessness can be fatal. And here is a story of two such emergency service providers who beat all odds to ensure that they did their job perfectly well.

Recently, a labour in Gandhavayal near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu dialled '108' requiring an ambulance to take his expecting wife, who had gone into labour. Emergency medical staff member K Roja and the driver of the ambulance that rushed to the family's help, M Arun Kumar, soon found that it was not easy to reach the family as the bridge that connected their village had drowned in rain (not an unfamiliar situation in rural India), a report in Inuth.com reported.

The alternative route was more time consuming. The two emergency service providers decided to leave the vehicle there itself and set off in a coracle (small wicket-made boat) to cross the flooded area. After crossing it, they took a two-wheeler to reach their destination,

On reaching the family, the duo saw that the woman had already delivered but the newborn was not out of danger yet. It needed treatment for survival and the two men then took it to the ambulance by the same way they reached the family (two-wheeler and then coracle)

The two also arranged for another vehicle to take the mother to a hospital in Coimbatore as she lost a lot of blood during her delivery.

Riding coracles is a joyful experience but for these two emergency medical staffers, this ride is something they will remember for life.