india

Updated: Apr 16, 2019 17:44 IST

It was a race against time for a 15-day-old baby in Kerala.

Even as the whole state of Kerala came together to pray for the infant’s life, an ambulance carrying the new-born child zipped from Mangaluru in Karnataka to Kochi in Kerala, a distance of 400 kilometres.

The baby reached the Amrita Institute of Medical sciences in Kochi around 430 pm on Tuesday after leaving the Mangaluru hospital around 11 am.

The ambulance’s journey was webcast live on Facebook so that awareness about the ambulance could be spread and people could make way for it.

The baby needs an urgent heart valve surgery. The roadtrip was necessitated after doctors refused to give permission for the child to be airlifted citing pressure variations which could be harmful to the baby

As information about the child’s condition spread, many good samaritans hit the street to help clear the way for the ambulance. An NGO ‘Child Protect Team’ is coordinating the transfer of the child. The ambulance is expected to cover the 600 kilometre distance in about 10 hours, a distance that is usually covered in about 16 hours.

“The child could not be airlifted due to pressure variations. There are high-tech ambulances to beat this but we don’t have them. Doctors gave the go-ahead after enough consultation and Sree Chithita Institute also gave green signal,” said Sunil Malikkal of the NGO. Police and other NGOs coordinated to ensure a smooth transfer for the baby and the state government has also promised all help. The state government has said that it will bear all the expense of the child’s treatment.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted, “Every second is precious. I appeal to everyone to help baby reach destination on time.”

State Health Minister KK Shailaja said the government would provide all help to the baby. The baby of Sania and Mitha, a couple from Kasargode, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital for a week. The transfer was necessitated after the baby’s condition deteriorated on Monday night.