Abdul Wahid buried

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The body of Abdul Wahid who succumbed to burns caused by a fire in a ‘108’ Ambulance on Sunday was buried at Kallara on Monday. Suhara Beevi, 58, wife of Abdul Wahid, was killed on the spot. Abdul Wahid was undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital here after he suffered 90 per cent burns.  The mishap occurred near Kallara-Pangode area after the oxygen cylinder kept inside the ambulance, which was rushing their one-and-a-half-year-old grandchild to the hospital after she had accidentally consumed kerosene, caught fire. However, the parents of the child managed to escape along with the child. The small town of Kallara joined the mourning as hundreds poured in to ‘Dileef Manzil’ to pay their last respects. By noon the body was taken to Kallara Muhiyudeen Masjid and buried there. The body of Suhara Beevi was buried on Sunday night itself.  Meanwhile,   Hari Kumar S, manager-operations of Ziqitza that operates the ‘108’ Ambulance service, said that such an incident is the first one in the nine-year-old history of Ziqitza which transported over 50,000 emergency patients till date and ruled out the possibility of oxygen cylinder blast. ‘’The oxygen cylinder is intact and the Ziqitza team is trying to identify the source of the fire. We can confirm that there were no flammable solid, liquid or gas other than the diesel in the ambulance. We are requesting the authorities to immediately get all the ‘108’ Ambulances examined by experts,’’ he said.Meanwhile, Health Minister Adoor Prakash has said that an investigation will be launched to find out what went wrong.  The condition of Ashina, the child who had consumed kerosene, is said to  be stable.