Berhampur: A young man from Biripur village in Odisha’s Ganjam district died after the ambulance transporting him to a higher medical centre broke down midway late on Thursday.
According to sources, Shankar Maharana, the deceased, collapsed after being hit by a ball in the stomach while playing cricket in a nearby field around 4 pm. He was initially taken to a health facility at Khallikote, where doctors, observing his worsening condition, referred him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for advanced care.
An 108 ambulance was arranged, and he left for Berhampur at around 11 pm. However, the ambulance broke down at Khallikote Ghat. It took approximately three hours for a replacement ambulance to arrive. Shankar reached MKCG hospital at 4 am and was pronounced dead by the doctors there.
His family alleged that the delay due to the ambulance breakdown led to Shankar’s untimely death. They have demanded a probe into the incident.
