Flyer suffers stroke, gets help from ground

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: A passenger aboard an Air India flight from Bangkok to Mumbai received medical attention relayed from doctors on the ground after he suffered a heart attack mid-air.

After the heart attack, as the condition of the male passenger on Flight AI-331 continued to deteriorate on Wednesday night, the pilots radioed Kolkata air traffic control to report the medical emergency.

The pilots sought permission to make an unscheduled landing at the Kolkata airport and asked the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to keep medical teams on stand-by. They also asked the air traffic controllers to arrange for advice from doctors on the ground.

The Airports Authority of India rushed its doctors to the ATC tower, who interacted with them over the very high frequency communication line to help the passenger till the flight landed. The Air India flight made the emergency landing at Kolkata at around 10pm.