Baby with heart ailment attended mid-air by doctors on board; Delhi plane diverted to Nagpur

Due to the medical emergency, the Bengaluru-New Delhi plane was rerouted and it landed at the Nagpur airport on late Sunday night, he said.

Nagpur: A New Delhi-bound Vistara flight was diverted to Nagpur due to a medical emergency involving a 14-month-old baby with a heart problem who was attended by a group of doctors travelling in the aircraft and later admitted to a hospital, an airport official said on Monday.

Due to the medical emergency, the Bengaluru-New Delhi plane was rerouted and it landed at the Nagpur airport on late Sunday night, he said.

---

Aejaz Shami, Deputy General Manager (Communications) of Nagpur-based KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals, where the baby was admitted, said the toddler fell unconscious after suffering a cardiac arrest during the flight.

“In a remarkable display of preparedness and professionalism, co-passengers from medical background on board promptly initiated life-saving measures by providing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the baby passenger,” said Shami told PTI.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a lifesaving technique used if someone is not breathing normally or their heart has stopped (cardiac arrest).

The hospital official said as the situation got critical, the airline team coordinated with the Nagpur airport authorities for an emergency landing.

An ambulance stationed at the airport immediately transferred the baby to the hospital, where the patient was attended by a senior consultant in paediatrics and neonatology, Shami said.

The baby, who was put on a ventilator and administered life-saving drugs, was unconscious, he said.

The hospital provides medical services at the Nagpur airport.