Army doctor resuscitates 27-year-old critically ill man mid-air on Pune-Chandigarh flight

Mumbai: A doctor of Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir onboard a Pune-Chandigarh flight saved the life of a 27-year-old critically ill man by resuscitating him and requesting an emergency landing in Mumbai.

Major Simrat Rajdeep Singh, a medical officer with the Western Command Hospital, Chandimandir (Haryana), said while he was travelling from Pune to Chandigarh by an Indigo flight on Monday, a co-passenger, who boarded in Goa, started experiencing respiratory distress mid-air-at-an-altitude of 39,000 feet. 

“I asked about the previous medical history of the patient, who was from Belgaum, from his brother who was also travelling with him. The medical reports showed the patient has small kidneys with poor renal function,” Singh told PTI over phone on Tuesday. 

The crew had most of the necessary equipment and drugs available in their medical emergency kit, he said.

Singh said he administered the required emergency drugs to the patient through intravenous line access and kept him on continuous oxygen support for an hour.

He also requested the flight captain to lower the altitude and make an emergency landing at the nearest place, as Chandigarh was still two hours away.

Since Mumbai was the nearest airport, the flight made an emergency landing here. Preparations were made in the meantime to rush the patient to hospital as soon as the flight landed, he said. 

The patient was rushed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run R N Cooper Hospital.

“Maj Simrat Rajdeep Singh of #WesternCommandHospital, Chandimandir while on board @Indigo6E724 from Goa to Chandigarh saved the life of a 27-year-old critically ill patient. He resuscitated the patient & requested for an emergency landing at #Mumbai,” Indian Army’s Western Command said in a post on X on Monday.

Singh said he spoke to the doctor treating the man here. An emergency dialysis was conducted on him and he was feeling better, he added.