Baby born in the road

The ambulance didn't arrive for Senzeni Ntombela when she went into labour early on Wednesday.

Fortunately, two women and a businessman helped her and she safely delivered a girl at the roadside in central Durban.

Ntombela, 38, of Mtubatuba, Zululand, was in Durban to visit her husband.

"I thought I was due in July, so I came to visit my husband. I started experiencing labour pains at 3am and called the ambulance, but nobody came. I left the house at 6am and my sister accompanied me into town," she said.

While travelling on the bus, her labour pains got more intense and she could feel the baby being born.

"The bus stopped and two women got off the bus to help me," she said.

Ahmed Mahomed, 44, who owns a cellphone shop in the vicinity, saw Ntombela in a crouched position at the roadside and, guessing that she was in labour, called for an ambulance.

"I called for an ambulance every five minutes and the CCTV control room, to check if they could see what was happening and send someone to help. I then ran into my shop and got heaps of cloth so the woman could be covered," he said.

Helped by the women and Mahomed, Ntombela gave birth before paramedics arrived.

Mahomed said: "I was disgusted by how the paramedics and firefighters treated her. They moved everybody away, leaving her exposed in a crouched position, without privacy."

Ntombela said that she was shocked and traumatised by the incident.