Passenger on Dubai-bound flight suffers cardiac arrest; doctor, crew save his life

A Dubai-based doctor and crew members on a flight teamed up to save the life of a passenger who suffered from a cardiac arrest while travelling from India to the UAE.

During the Go First flight flying from Kannur to Dubai, the passenger started to feel uncomfortable and asked for medical help before losing consciousness.

The crew first calmed the passengers on board before identifying a doctor.

"As the passenger shouted for help, the Go First cabin crew immediately ran towards the passenger and found him unconscious with no pulse and no breathing. Not a second was wasted. With help from other passengers, the casualty was placed on the aft galley floor and the crew began the cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, process," NDTV quoted the airline as saying.

"Fortunately, a doctor, Dr Shabeer Ahmed, was also travelling on the same flight, and he treated the casualty with two sets of automated external defibrillators (AED) shock, followed by five sets of CPR," the airline said in the statement.

Dr Ahmed and crew members helped the patient regain consciousness from the life-threatening cardiac arrest.

“We thought we almost lost him,” said Dr. Shabeer, who is working as Specialist gastroenterologist at NMC Royal Hospital DIP. “The flight was about to be diverted to Mumbai for emergency medical assistance. But luckily, thanks to God, the patient regained consciousness. There was a nurse to assist. She, the crew members, and I took turns to perform CPR. It was a very scary situation. I am grateful everything turned out all right.”

Upon landing in Dubai, the patient was rushed to the hospital for further treatment.

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Commending the staff, Go First honoured the doctor and crew members.

"It was indeed a flight of angels. The crew and doctor that saved the life of the passenger," Go First wrote in a Twitter thread, where the airline detailed the incident.

Via a video conference call, Kaushik Khona, CEO, and other senior members of Go First joined the passenger and the doctor in a felicitation ceremony to present mementoes to the crew.

- nasreen@khaleejtimes.com

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