LARKANA, March 11: An air-ambulance scheduled to reach Mohenjodaro airport on Sunday to take ailing leftist leader and writer Sobho Gyanchandani to Karachi reportedly developed faults halfway and returned.

Nirmal Das, son of Mr Gyanchandani, had appealed to the Sindh chief minister on Saturday for the air-ambulance and the latter had asked deputy commissioner of Larkana Abdul Aleem Lashari to arrange it.

Nirmal Das told Dawn on Sunday that his father’s condition had somewhat improved. Temperature has gone down but constant cough and wheezing were a cause of worry, he said. He is still bed ridden.

He said Sindh culture secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili and the DC had assured him that the air-ambulance would be arranged by Monday.

The DC said that hopefully the air-ambulance would reach here on Monday.

Arrangements for Mr Gyanchandani have been made at a private hospital in Karachi and the government will bear expenses of his treatment.

He said that Edhi foundation was providing the air-ambulance without any charge.

Faisal Edhi, a trustee of Abdul Sattar Edhi Foundation, said the air-ambulance had to return after covering half the distance because of a fault in its electrical system and would hopefully be ready to take off on Monday.—Correspondent