ROURKELA: A 46-year-old injured passenger of the IndiaOne Air aircraft that had crash-landed in Rourkela a week back, died of cardiac arrest during treatment at the JP Hospital here on Saturday, while efforts were being made to airlift him to Mumbai for further treatment.
The deceased has been identified as Sushant Kumar Biswal. Biswal was also suffering from CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) and DM (Diabetes Mellitus).
Confirming his death, chairman of JP Hospital & Research Centre, Sanjay Bansal said Biswal died at around 4.23 pm due to cardiac arrest. “The regional airliner - IndiaOne Air - was about to airlift the patient to a higher centre in Mumbai for better recovery. As the airliner’s medical team was preparing to airlift him, the patient died,” he said.
Reliable sources in the JP hospital said Biswal’s heart was performing with only 25 per cent capacity. As the air-ambulance was ready to lift him, Biswal suffered back-to-back heart attacks and was twice revived with CPRs. But after the third attack, he could not be revived, they said.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Aviation has condoled Biswal’s death. Issuing a statement in this connection, it said, Biswal’s health condition remained critical due to pre-existing heart and renal conditions.
“Subsequently, he developed a severe lung infection, which led to further deterioration of his health. But, while being transferred to the air ambulance, the patient suffered a massive cardiac arrest and collapsed. Despite the best efforts of the attending medical team, he could not be revived and was declared dead,” the statement added.
The airline concerned has assured compensation to the family of the deceased as per applicable norms. All prescribed medical protocols and emergency procedures were duly followed, the Aviation directorate said.
The nine-seater Cessna Grand C208B aircraft VT-KSS of IndiaOne Air, a scheduled commuter operator, operating under the Regional Connectivity Scheme was on its way to the Rourkela airport from Bhubaneswar when it crashed-landed on a field near Jalda A Block of Rourkela on January 10 afternoon. Four passengers and two pilots had suffered different degrees of injuries.
Biswal, a businessman of Vedvyas area here, was returning in the aircraft after treatment at Bhubaneswar. Following the incident, he suffered head injuries with contusion. His condition was critical throughout and he was under ventilator support due to underlying health complications.
JP Hospital sources said two other passengers, Sunil Agarwal (40) and Sabita Agarwal (35), both of whom who had sustained fractures in their hip and spine, were airlifted to Fortis Hospital, Mumbai on January 11.
Another passenger Anita Sahu (50) with lacerated wound with contusion in brain, and pilot Naveen Kadanga (46) and co-pilot Tarun Srivastava (46) who sustained fractures in facial bones, are recuperating after surgery. The hospital chairman said all three passengers are in stable condition and would be discharged in a week.