Near death experience for babies who were born after eighteen years of waiting; 53-year-old Saji and 47-year-old Baby still in shock

THRISSUR/CHALAKKUDY: Saji and his wife Baby, a couple who were on their way home from the hospital with their twins, who were born after a long wait of eighteen years, are still in shock of seeing their car caught fire. The fire that rose from the bonnet and the locked door spread another fire in their minds.

Saji, who became a father at the age of fifty-three, felt that all his dreams had ended. His forty-seven-year-old wife Baby, mother Sulekha, and neighbour Lalitha were in the back seat of the car with their eight-day-old babies.

Saji, a former panchayat member of Melur, a native of Muringoor in Chalakudy, and his family were returning from Saroja Hospital in Thrissur at night. They were travelling in a Maruti S Cross car brought by his friend Sajimon.

After fifteen kilometres, when they reached Amballur, it was 8:30 pm. People travelling in another car reported that smoke was coming from the car driven by Sajimon. The car was stopped immediately, but the door could not be opened. A lorry driver who was nearby also tried hard to open the doors. Everyone in the car started screaming.

Sajimon somehow opened the driver's door and jumped out. Later, the other doors were opened. Saji hugged both children tight and took them out. He moved his wife Baby, who had collapsed, away from the car. His mother and neighbour Lalitha took the children and moved away from the car. Within seconds, the car became a ball of fire. The locals and the Puthukkad police rushed to the spot to rescue Saji and his family. The police, who arranged another vehicle, escorted them to Kodakara to quickly take them home.

Baby gave birth to male babies through a cesarean section on the 15th of this month. Saji is the manager of the Muringoor Cheenikkal Bhagavathy temple. Sajimon was called with the car after the car that Saji had first arranged did not reach the hospital.

'I hadn't even seen my children properly. When I tried to open the door after seeing fire coming from the bonnet, all the doors were locked. I thought it was all over. Those two minutes... I can't even think about it...'

- Saji