Mid-air emergency: B'luru-Kol flight diverted to save a patient, but he dies

Air Asia flight landed in Bhubaneshwar and the sick passenger was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.

On Sunday morning, an AirAsia Bengaluru-Kolkata flight had to be diverted to Bhubaneswar and make an emergency landing at Biju Patnaik International Airport to save a passenger who had fallen ill mid-flight.

On Sunday morning, an AirAsia Bengaluru-Kolkata flight had to be diverted to Bhubaneswar and make an emergency landing at Biju Patnaik International Airport after a passenger fell ill mid-flight. (REUTERS)

With permission from air traffic control, the flight was diverted to Bhubaneswar, where it landed at 7.56 a.m. The airport authorities had dispatched an ambulance ahead of time to transport the patient to the hospital. Despite all efforts to help the passenger, he could not be saved.

Doctors at Capital Hospital, however, declared the passenger, Habibur Khan (27) of West Bengal, dead.

"Due to a medical emergency, the flight was diverted here and safely landed. After half an hour, the flight returned to its destination," airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria said.

According to reports, the passenger had earlier come to Bengaluru for treatment due to a health condition and was on his way to his hometown.

An airline spokesperson in a statement said, “Air Asia India reported that a guest scheduled to travel from Bengaluru to Kolkata onboard i5-2472 on Sunday, March 13, reported unwell during the flight. Medical attention was provided by the airline crew and the flight was immediately diverted to Bhubaneshwar."