NEW DELHI: An IAS officer trained in medicine and a doctor turned out to be a godsend for an infant who was gasping for breath in mid-air and was on the verge of cardiac arrest due to his heart condition. The mid-air ‘miracle’ happened on an Indigo flight inbound to Delhi from Ranchi.
Eyewitnesses said the six-month-old, suffering from congenital heart disease, was traveling with his parents to seek care at AIIMS Delhi. However, the child developed severe breathing issues due to the change in air pressure as the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet, they said. The crew members announced a distress signal.
Then, two men came to help the child–IAS Nitin Kulkarni and Dr Mozammil Firoz. The duo used a mask enacted over the passengers’ seats, which flings down during low pressure, to provide airflow to the infants' lungs after calibration.
The oxygen was supplied through the mask as the child could not breathe. Meanwhile, his parents were carrying Dexona injection which was injected into the infant and his condition improved. Nitin Kulkarni is attached to the Governer’s House (Jharkhand) where he serves as a principal secretary. Firoz is a doctor at Ranchi Sadar Hospital.
The act by the duo has received much commendation and praise from the people. Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan has felicitated Kulkarni for his act. Meanwhile, Firoz’s friends took to social media to praise the medico. “Heroic efforts by our #Safdarjung Alumni Dr. Muzammil Feroz in response to a mid-air medical crisis for a baby gasping for breath,” Dr Furquan Ahmad posted on X.
Flight crew’s SOS
The crew members announced a distress signal. Then, two men came to help the child–IAS Nitin Kulkarni and Dr Mozammil Firoz