A newborn baby, a doctor and two other persons were burnt to death when the ambulance they were traveling in caught fire near Modasa town in Gujarat’s Arvalli district on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, police said.
The fire broke out in an ambulance on the Modasa-Dhansura road around 1 am when the one-day-old boy, who was sick after birth, was being taken to a private hospital in Ahmedabad from the Modasa hospital for further treatment, police inspector DB Vala said.
The child, his father, identified as Jignesh Mochi (38), doctor Shantilal Rentia (30) from Ahmedabad and nurse Bhuriben Manat (23), a native of Arvalli, were killed, he said.
Three others — Mochi’s two relatives and a private ambulance driver — suffered burns and were admitted to a nearby hospital, the official said.
“Jignesh Mochi was a native of neighboring Mahisagar district and his newborn child was being treated at a private hospital in Modas after delivery. While he was being shifted to another private hospital, the ambulance on the way caught fire for an unknown reason,” Mr. Vala said.
CCTV footage released by police shows the ambulance slowing down at a petrol pump after the driver realized the back of it was on fire.
“While the driver and two of Mochi’s relatives who were sitting in the front seat escaped injury, the infant, his father along with a doctor and a nurse who were in the back of the vehicle were gutted in the flames,” Vala said.
Although local firemen rushed to the spot after being alerted, they could not save the four victims, he said.
The injured persons have been identified as driver Ankit Thakor and relatives of Jignesh Mochi – Gaurang Mochi and Gitaben Mochi.
District Police Inspector Manoharsinh Jadeja said forensic experts have been called to investigate the incident and find out the causes that led to the tragedy.
Published – 18 Nov 2025 11:51 IST
