In a tragic accident, a woman patient was charred to death and three injured after the ambulance hit an electric post and caught fire at Kalluthankadavu near Kozhikode city while shifting a patient from a hospital for immediate surgery to a hospital in Kozhikode town in the early hours on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Sulochana (57) of Nadapuram; her husband Chandran suffered serious injuries, while bystander Praseedha and a nurse, Jaffer, suffered sustained injuries and were admitted to a private hospital in Kozhikode town.
The incident took place around 0300 hrs, and the ambulance was proceeding to Aster MIMS hospital by carrying Sulochana from Malabar Medical College hospital at Ulliyeri for immediate surgery.
Reports said the ambulance lost control, hit an electric pole, and then rammed into a nearby building.
In the impact, a total of seven passengers were travelling in the ambulance, including a doctor and two nurses.
All of them fell on the road under the impact of the collision, except Sulochana, who got trapped in the ambulance on fire.
Police and fire force personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire, police said.