Panic broke out aboard a Goa-New Delhi flight after a passenger suffered a medical emergency mid-air, prompting swift intervention by a Bengaluru-based doctor on board.
The timely medical assistance helped
revive the passenger, following which the aircraft made a priority landing to ensure further treatment.
Around 1.15 pm on Saturday, barely 10 minutes after the IndiGo flight took off from Goa, the 34-year-old woman, identified as Jenny from California, complained of uneasiness and shivers before collapsing. She was seated in the 16th row, along with her sister. The duo were travelling to Delhi to attend a wedding.
However, even before an announcement seeking medical assistance could be made over the public address system, Dr Nimbalkar, a medical professional and former Congress MLA from the Khanapur assembly constituency in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, rose from her seat and rushed to assist, Times of India reported.
Upon examination, she found the passenger unconscious, pale and severely dehydrated, with clenched fists and symptoms suggestive of a seizure.
The doctor swiftly obtained the passenger’s medical history from her sister and began basic resuscitative measures, successfully reviving her. Dr Nimbalkar then administered an oral electrolyte solution the passenger was carrying, as she had suffered from a stomach infection the previous day.
With the situation seemingly stabilised, Dr Nimbalkar returned to her seat. However, around 30 minutes later, she was urgently called again as the same passenger collapsed a second time and appeared to be in critical condition.
After this, the passenger clutched her hand, almost literally clinging on to dear life. “Please don’t go anywhere,” was all she managed to say, but those few words were enough to convey her ordeal. After this, Dr Nimbalkar remained by the passenger’s side until the aircraft made a priority landing in Delhi and the critically ill American passenger was evacuated to a hospital.
