A man in India was reportedly denied an ambulance to carry his wife’s body back to their village because he couldn’t afford to pay for the transportation.
In the heartbreaking video, Dana Majhi was seen carrying his wife, Amangadei, 42, on Aug. 24 over one of his shoulders while their 12-year-old daughter, Chaula, walked beside him.
Amangadei died from tuberculosis, a disease that can be spread from person to person through the air, such as when a person coughs, sneezes or even talks.
According to Reuters, Majhi was unable to pay for an ambulance from the hospital, which was said to be in Kalahandi, a district of India’s eastern Odisha state, to his village of Melghar, so he decided to walk the 60 kilometres.
“I kept pleading with the hospital staff to provide a vehicle to carry my wife’s body, but to no avail. Since I am a poor man and could not hire a private vehicle, I had no choice but to carry her body on my shoulder,” Majhi told the BBC.
Amangadei can be seen wrapped in what appeared to be a long cloth or sheet and her feet covered.
Denied a form of transportation, Majhi carried his wife for about 10 to 12 kilometres before someone alerted officials to arrange an ambulance for the man, according to First Post, a news organization in India.
Pushpendra Singh Deo, Odisha state’s urban development minister, said those who are responsible would be held accountable.
The BBC reported the family would be compensated to cover the costs of cremating Amangadei’s body.