A young mother who gave birth to triplets in a remote part of Papua New Guinea was successfully evacuated, but all three of her babies died before help could reach them.
Manolos Aviation carried out this morning’s emergency medical evacuation from Onga-Waffa in Markham Distict, bringing the mother into Morobe Province’s capital, Lae, shortly after 10am before she was taken to hospital for further treatment.
The woman had given birth prematurely to triplets at about eight months into her pregnancy.
Despite the efforts of health workers at the local health facility, all three babies died within hours of each other. The clinic had limited resources and was unable to provide the level of specialised neonatal care required by the premature babies.
Manolos Aviation chief executive and pilot Captain Jurgen Ruh said the outcome could potentially have been different if the medevac team had received the emergency call earlier.
“None of the babies survived. One of the babies died last night and the other two died this morning at nine o’clock,” Captain Ruh said.
The tragedy again highlights the difficulties faced by mothers and newborn babies in remote parts of Papua New Guinea, where geographical isolation, poor transport links and limited medical resources can turn complications during childbirth into life-threatening emergencies.
For Manolos Aviation, the case also carries echoes of an earlier evacuation involving another mother of triplets.
In May 2017, the company evacuated 25-year-old Rose Andy and her newborn triplets – two boys and a girl – from the remote village of Sikami in Obura-Wonenara District, Eastern Highlands Province.
The mother was suffering serious complications following the birth and was bleeding when the call for assistance was made.
Captain Ruh and a medevac nurse flew into the remote community, stabilised the mother and babies and transported them to Angau General Hospital in Lae. All three babies survived, and after four weeks at Angau, the family was cleared to return home.
Manolos Aviation’s medical evacuation work has since expanded considerably, with its MAMA Medevac program providing emergency air transport for patients from some of the country’s most isolated communities.
Manolos Aviation’s pilot Jurgen Ruh
Scott Waide
One of its most high-profile recent missions involved conjoined twins Tom and Sawong, who were born at Braun Memorial Hospital in Finschhafen in October 2025.
Within two days of their birth, Manolos Aviation evacuated the twins to Angau Memorial Hospital before they were eventually transferred to Australia for highly specialised medical treatment.
Doctors later carried out a complex separation operation in Sydney. Tom, who had severe medical complications, did not survive, but the operation saved Sawong.
