Six months pregnant women on way to WB delivers twins on bus in UP, both dead

BAREILLY: A six months pregnant woman from West Bengal , who was on her way back home with her husband and 40 other migrant workers in a private bus, delivered twin daughters while the bus was passing through Bareilly district on Sunday morning. Born premature, one of the babies died immediately after birth while the second one died on way to the district hospital .

Doctors said that the woman has been quarantined and her swab samples would be sent for Covid-19 tests.

The woman used to work at a brick kiln with her husband and had boarded the bus from Hapur on Saturday night. Her husband said that 42 passengers were on board and they had collectively paid Rs 1.2 lakh for their journey as the “government didn’t provide them with any assistance despite requests”.

Fatima Bi, 24, and her husband Mithun Miyan, 26, are natives of Cooch Behar district of West Bengal and used to work at a brick kiln in Hapur district. Having lost their jobs during the lockdown, they applied online to return home with the assistance of the government but didn’t get any response.

On Saturday night, the labourers stranded in Hapur booked a bus but Mithun and Fatima had to cut short their journey after Fatima’s condition deteriorated. The couple was dropped on National Highway 24 in the Bithri Chainpur area of Bareilly, from where a 108 ambulance took them to the district hospital.

Mithun said, “We were happy after boarding the bus. But then, everything changed when my wife delivered a stillborn and another premature baby. We informed the ambulance service and rushed to a hospital in Bareilly. The bus driver, however, refused to wait for us and left for the destination with other passengers. We all had collectively paid Rs 1.2 lakh for the bus.”

Dr Varsha Agarwal , who is treating Fatima at the district hospital, said, “The woman had already delivered twins on the bus and both of them had died when she reached here. Her condition is stable but she is upset. She was only six months pregnant. Her samples would be sent for Covid-19 tests as she was travelling from another district and may have been exposed to the infection.”