Kasargod: A critically-ill patient died due to lack of oxygen in the ambulance that was transferring him from the district government hospital to Amala Medical College Hospital.

The deceased has been identified as Sebastian (64) from Pulparambu and was reportedly brought dead to the Amala Medical College Hospital. The patient was being transferred from the government hospital to Amala hospital which is at a distance of 10kms.The district government hospital officials have agreed that the oxygen in the ambulance got empty only after travelling the distance of 2kms from the government hospital. But, they do not accept that the patient died due to the lack of oxygen. Meanwhile, Amala hospital officials insist that the patient was brought dead on arrival.

While Sebastian was being admitted to the district government hospital on Saturday, he was facing extreme difficulty in breathing. He was admitted into the I.C.U. on Tuesday afternoon around 12:25pm. Since his condition failed to improve, the doctors decided to transfer him over to Amala hospital.

As the ambulance neared West fort, at a distance of 2kms from the government hospital, the patient started gasping for breath. The nursing assistant then informed the relatives of the patient that the oxygen in the cylinder was empty and they had another 8kms more to cover to reach the destination.

Responding to this incident, district government hospital superintendent T.P. Sridevi said that Sebastian was critically-ill. Normally, a patient is allowed for transfer only after checking the oxygen level in his blood. To understand what really happened, an investigation will be done.

Sebastian’s family members insist that the doctors had informed them about his condition being very serious, but they never mentioned that his life was in danger. A police complaint has been given in relation to this incident.