In his disparate bid to save his pregnant wife and their first baby, a man was forced walked through forest for about 40 kms in heavy rains carrying the woman on his shoulders to get her to a hospital, but failed to save the baby.

 

The tribal youth, Ayyappan, carrying his seven-month pregnant wife, Sudha set off for the hospital from the Konni forests in Pathanamthitta district on June 2 in heavy rains. Ayappan, a nomadic tribal, walked to Kokkathod, said to be about 40 km from the place he was staying in the forest, and then managed to get a jeep to take his wife to the Pathnamthitta district hospital by evening from where she was referred to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital as she had convulsions.

 

"The woman's life had been saved since she was carried all the way, but the baby could not be saved. Labour was induced for the delivery of the dead foetus," Dr Kunjamma Roy of the Kottayam Medical college hospital said. The women delivered last Wednesday and the mother is recovering, she added. The couple were living in the Konni forests and eked out a living by selling honey and various other products from the forest. As media reports came in about the couple, offers of financial assistance have started pouring in.