A 'Khairiyat' (welfare) team of the Army posted in a north Kashmir village rescued a woman with pregnancy-related complications by carrying her for many kilometres in waist-deep snow and ensured that she reached hospital in time to give birth to a healthy baby.
The team received a call on Tuesday from a distraught Riyaz Mir, a resident of Dard Pora village near Tangmarg area of Baramulla in north Kashmir, saying his wife was in labour and the family was unable to take her to hospital because of heavy snowfall, an Army source said.
The woman, Shamima, had developed severe pregnancy-related complications due to which both her and the unborn baby's lives were in danger.
Following the call, the base commander located at Uplona village lost no time and trekked nearly five kilometres along with a resident medical officer to reach the family, the source said.
The entire Army unit swung into action and three teams were immediately formed — one cleared the road for the pregnant woman's movement, the second cleared the snow till the helipad and the third cleared the road till Kanispora, connecting the area with the district headquarters in Baramulla, the army official said.
Over 100 men from the army and 25 civilians were engaged in the six-hour operation which involved the foot patrol taking the woman on a stretcher to Uplona through waist-deep snow.