Malaysia-bound flight makes emergency landing following medical emergency

A flight from Saudi Arabia, which was proceeding towards Malaysia, made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport after a passenger fell ill.

Chennai: An AirAsia Kuala Lumpur-bound international flight made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport on Thursday evening after a passenger complained of chest pain, an official said. The flight with about 278 passengers was proceeding from Jeddah. The complainant, identified as Buhari DT Jinto (64), an Indonesian national, who was travelling in the plane, suddenly complained of chest pain while the plane was passing through the Chennai airspace on Thursday night. The flight attendants then informed the pilots. The pilots immediately decided to land the plane at the Chennai international airport.

The chief pilot then immediately contacted the Chennai airport Control Room and explained the situation. He requested that the flight be allowed to land urgently. In this regard, the Chennai airport Control Room officials contacted the head Control Room in Delhi and reported the situation. The officials then allowed the flight to land in Chennai immediately and instructed them to provide all necessary medical assistance to the passenger.

The airport medical team went inside the flight and examined the passenger. The officials revealed that the passenger required immediate hospitalisation, however, he didn't have a visa to land in India. The Chennai airport immigration officials issued an emergency medical visa to the Indonesian passenger on humanitarian grounds. After that, he was sent by ambulance from the Chennai airport to Chromepet Government Hospital for treatment.

Currently, the passenger is undergoing treatment. According to official sources, steps are being taken to send him to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai for further treatment. Meanwhile, the AirAsia pilot has formally informed the Indonesian Embassy that the Indonesian passenger has been admitted to the Chennai hospital for emergency medical treatment. Subsequently, the flight took off from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, with 277 passengers.