Medical emergency: Delhi-Doha IndiGo flight diverted to Karachi; passenger dies
A Doha-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing at Pakistan's Karachi airport on Monday morning due to an onboard medical emergency. The crew of the airline's 6E-1736 flight opted to make an emergency landing after a passenger fell severely ill, reported the news agency ANI. However, unfortunately, the passenger allegedly died before the aircraft could land in Karachi.
Details on midflight incident
As per media reports, the captain of the IndiGo flight got in touch with the Karachi Air Traffic Control and informed it about the medical emergency while requesting an emergency landing. Meanwhile, the deceased passenger was identified as 60-year-old Abdullah from Nigeria. Furthermore, medical authorities of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, reportedly issued his death certificate.
Passenger's health worsened midflight
IndiGo provides update on situation
Following the unfortunate incident, the airline released a statement and confirmed that its 6E-1736 flight made an emergency landing in Karachi due to a medical emergency, adding that the passenger was declared dead on arrival by the airport medical team. IndiGo also revealed that it was coordinating with the concerned authorities to make arrangements to transfer the rest of the passengers on that flight.
IndiGo releases statement after death of passenger
In an official release, IndiGo stated: "Flight 6E-1736, operating from Delhi to Doha, was diverted to Karachi due to a medical emergency on board. Unfortunately, on arrival, the passenger was declared dead by the airport medical team." "We're currently making arrangements for transferring the other passengers of the flight, in coordination with the relevant authorities," the airline added.
Similar mid-air medical emergencies this year
This incident is the latest in a series of mid-air medical emergencies in the first three months of 2023. On February 20, a New York-Delhi Air India flight was diverted to London owing to a medical emergency. In another similar incident in mid-January, a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Madurai was also diverted to the Indore airport after a midflight medical crisis concerning a passenger.
