Mother rescued after triplets die in remote PNG community

A young mother who gave birth to triplets in a remote part of Papua New Guinea was successfully evacuated, but all three of her babies died before help could reach them.

Manolos Aviation carried out this morning's emergency medical evacuation from Onga-Waffa in Markham Distict, bringing the mother into Morobe Province's capital, Lae, shortly after 10am before she was taken to hospital for further treatment.

The woman had given birth prematurely to triplets at about eight months into her pregnancy.

Despite the efforts of health workers at the local health facility, all three babies died within hours of each other. The clinic had limited resources and was unable to provide the level of specialised neonatal care required by the premature babies.

Manolos Aviation chief executive and pilot Captain Jurgen Ruh said the outcome could potentially have been different if the medevac team had received the emergency call earlier.