Happy twist to an awful tale

If paramedics were not at the scene where the skeletal remains of a person were discovered, a pregnant woman would not have made it to the hospital in time.

Mrs Elaine Thorne, from the Kensington Heritage Trust, said Sunday last week was the most bizarre day she had experienced in a while.

“For us in Medusa Street it started at about 9.20am. Everyone at home heard the police and ambulance sirens. We knew something was going on,” she said.

A woman, who did not want her name published for personal reasons and who Mrs Thorne knows, was pregnant.

She went outside to check what the police officers and an ambulance were doing in the area.

Soon thereafter, Mrs Thorne and her friends realised the woman was in labour.

“We realised the baby was on its way. The woman was taken out onto the street where the ambulance was. The ambulance was next to the site where a skull was discovered, which was close to the Lancaster Street and Albertina Sisulu Road intersection. The paramedics were asked to take a look at the woman. They checked her blood pressure and, on recognising the labour symptoms, they bundled her into the ambulance and took her to the hospital,” said Mrs Thorne.

The baby was born healthy and the woman is doing well. “How is that for a twist in this awful tale? If the skeletal remains had not been discovered and an ambulance was not in the area at that time, the baby would have been born right here in Medusa Street. We are uncertain about what happened at the scene afterwards, where the skull was found. The arrival of the baby shifted the focus somewhat for us,” she said.

Mrs Thorne described the discovery of the human remains as a gruesome event and said she feels for those who have lost a loved one.