‘Skies still beckon’ stewardess hurt in Brussels terror attack
Nidhi Chaphekar, an Indian flight attendant, badly wounded in the Brussels airport terror attack one year ago, is hopeful that she will one day be declared medically fit to return to the skies. As Belgium marked the first anniversary of the Islamic State bombings in Brussels, the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history, with a memorial service at Zaventem airport, Chaphekar, who still has a few surgeries to go, is hopeful that she could resume her duty.
“It’s my passion,” the 41-year-old told CNN about her working as a flight attendant with Jet Airways. “I don’t want to be a hindrance in the safety of others. [If] I’m medically fit, I would want to fly,” she said. A photograph of Chaphekar had become a defining image of the March 22 bombing in the Brussels airport and subway that killed 32 people and wounded 270 others.
Chaphekar had suffered burns to her face and other parts of her body, a fractured foot and had embedded metal all over. She was placed into a medically induced coma for 23 days. In mid-april, she woke up for the first time since the explosions, but she did not know who she was. A few days later on April 18, she regained her memory.