Reports from medics have confirmed the heartbreaking news of the death of a pregnant woman whose image gained widespread attention following a devastating attack by Russian forces on a hospital in Ukraine. Tragically, both the woman and her unborn baby have passed away.
The Russian Air Force carried out a bombing on Maternity Hospital No 3 in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022. This hospital complex served as both a children’s hospital and a maternity ward, resulting in the loss of at least three lives and leaving at least seventeen people injured.
Last week, images of the unidentified expectant mother, in distress as she was being evacuated from the Mariupol hospital, deeply shocked the global community in the wake of the attack. She was swiftly transported to another hospital closer to the frontlines, where medical professionals made every effort to save her life.
Tragically, it was realized that she was losing her unborn child, leading the woman to plead with the medical staff, saying, ‘Kill me now.’
Medical professionals who were tirelessly working to save both the mother and the baby described the extensive efforts made in trying to rescue them.
Surgeon Timur Marin discovered severe injuries to the woman’s pelvis, with her hip being detached. Although the baby was delivered via caesarean section, there were no signs of life, as confirmed by the surgeon. Subsequently, efforts were focused on the mother’s survival.
‘Despite more than 30 minutes of resuscitation efforts for the mother, no positive outcome was achieved,’ stated Mr. Marin on Saturday. ‘Both the mother and the baby tragically passed away.’
Following the airstrike on Wednesday, medical personnel were unable to obtain the woman’s identity before her husband and father arrived to take her body away.
Individuals came to claim her to prevent her from being included in the mass graves prepared for the victims of the actions of Vladimir Putin’s forces.