A fetus died after a woman 29 weeks pregnant had to be transported by helicopter from Cheongju to Busan because no nearby hospital could accept her during an emergency.
According to fire authorities on Tuesday, a report was filed around 11 p.m. the previous night requesting the transfer of a pregnant woman in her 30s to a university hospital after the fetal heart rate dropped. The woman had been admitted to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
The clinic contacted several nearby university hospitals, including Chungbuk National University Hospital, Sejong Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon Chungnam National University Hospital, Eulji University Hospital, Konyang University Hospital and Soonchunhyang University Hospital, but none were able to accept the patient.
The North Chungcheong Fire Service then launched a nationwide search for an available hospital bed, and at around 12:24 a.m., a transfer to Dong-A University Hospital in Busan was arranged.
The woman arrived in Busan at around 2:25 a.m., approximately three hours and 20 minutes after the initial report, but the fetus had already died.
