That night, with the life of a month-old child hanging in balance, an ambulance raced across nearly the entire length of the coastal state, covering a distance of 516 kilometres between the northern city of Kannur and Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram.

With light traffic, travelling that distance by road, according to Google Maps, would take a minimum of 13 hours. Factor in the everyday congestion on Kerala's narrow roads, and the trip would realistically take at least 14 hours.

The ambulance, however, completed the journey in 7 hours. Discounting the 15-minute break the emergency vehicle and its convoy took, the running trip time came to 6 hours and 45 minutes. That is an average speed of 76.4 kmph.

At the ambulance's wheel was Thamim, who hails from the coastal town of Kasaragod. On Wednesday night, Thamim was called in to work at the Pariyaaram Medical College in Kannur.

There he was given a mission: He was to transport a 31-day-old infant, Fathima Labia, from the Kannur facility to the SRI Chithra Mission Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

Fathima had to be transported to the hospital in the state capital as quickly as possible as she needed to undergo an emergency heart surgery after developing prolonged breathlessness earlier this week.

She couldn't be air-lifted as the nearest airports (Mangalore or Calicut) were three hours away, while arranging an air ambulance would require at least five hours. So, it was decided, the baby would be transported from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram by road.

The ambulance was accompanied by at least two SUVs of the Kerala Police. The SUVs kept changing at district borders in smooth changeovers that ensured Thamim did not have to slow down.

At around 11.00 pm, the convoy entered a fuel station in Kakadu in Kozhikode, making its only stop on the journey.

Finally, at 3.23 am Thursday, the ambulance came to a halt at the casualty ward of Sree Uthradam Thriunnal Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where waiting doctors and medical staff rushed the toddler inside.

Thamim the driver the hero was yet to get over the shock of what he had just accomplished.

Praising the state police and the CPT, Thamim said the successful journey would not have been possible without the officials' and organisation's help and support. "I could (mostly) stay in 100-120 (kmph) range thanks to (the) well-coordinated efforts by (the) teams," Thamim said.

As for the entire purpose of the trip, while Fathima successfully reached the Thiruvananthapuram hospital in likely record time, and undergoing treatment in ICU still and baby condition coping with treatment says doctors.