MANDLA: A woman gave birth to quadruplets in an auto-rickshaw while being taken to a hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district on Tuesday.All four newborns died shortly after birth, with the family alleging that the lack of an ambulance delayed medical care, news agency PTI reported.The woman’s husband claimed the babies could have survived had an ambulance arrived on time.Health officials, however, said the infants died because they were born prematurely and were underdeveloped.District chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr DJ Mohanty said Rajni Singaram, a resident of Naigaon, was taken to the government health centre in Ghuthas in a private vehicle after she experienced labour pain in the seventh month of her pregnancy.Due to her critical condition, she was referred to the Community Health Centre in Bichhiya and transported in an auto-rickshaw.Before reaching the hospital, she delivered four babies in the vehicle, Mohanty said.“All four babies died because they were premature and weighed around 1.5 kilograms each,” she said.Three of the babies were girls, while the fourth was a boy, PTI reported.The CMHO said the woman has been admitted to the Bichhiya Community Health Centre and is out of danger.

Family members alleged that they had called the emergency ambulance service after Rajni went into labour, but received no response and were forced to take her to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw.Her husband, Ganesh Singaram, said that if an ambulance had been available on time, their children could have been saved.Responding to the allegations, Mandla district magistrate Rahul Namdev Dhote said he had not received any complaint in the matter.He said the incident would be investigated and appropriate action taken if a complaint is received.(With agency inputs)