A 28-year-old woman delivered quadruplets inside an autorickshaw in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district after an ambulance allegedly failed to reach her home in time, with all four newborns declared dead on arrival at a hospital, officials said on Wednesday.All four premature newborns were declared dead on arrival at a community health centre in Mandla, prompting the district administration to order an inquiry.Rajni Sindram, a resident of Naigawan village, went into severe labour pains at her home at about 7 am. She was said to be seven months pregnant.“We immediately called the 108 ambulance service but no ambulance arrived. Seeing her condition deteriorating, we called the local Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker and rushed her to the nearby Primary Health Centre in an auto at about 8 am,” Rajni’s husband, Ganesh Singaram, said.At the primary health centre, the doctor provided initial treatment and referred her to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bichhiya town.“On the way, Rajni endured unbearable labour pain and delivered four babies (three boys and a girl) one after another inside the autorickshaw. By the time she reached the CHC, doctors examined the infants and declared all four dead,” her husband said.Bichhiya block medical officer Anup Kumar Bharatiya said, “The pregnancy was about 30 weeks. Due to premature delivery, the newborns were not fully developed. By the time the woman arrived, the delivery had already taken place.”Each baby weighed around 1.5 kilograms, he added.Bharatiya said an ASHA worker accompanied the woman throughout and that he had no information about the ambulance not reaching Rajni’s home. He added that the woman’s condition was stable and she was receiving treatment.District Collector Rahul Dhote Namdeo said an inquiry is underway. “We are investigating the matter. As of now, it appears the newborns died due to premature delivery,” he said.