Aircraft force-landing: Injured passenger succumbs at Rourkela hospital

Bhubaneswar: A passenger, who had sustained injuries during the force-landing of a nine-seater aircraft near Odisha’s Rourkela city on January 10, died at a private hospital in the Steel City today.

The deceased has been identified as Susanta Kumar Biswal (47). He succumbed to his injuries while being treated at the private hospital, reports said.

The single-engine aircraft of IndiaOne Air, a private airline, made a force-landing on a field near Rourkela after it developed certain glitches. The mishap took place while the aircraft was on its way to Rourkela from Bhubaneswar.

Two crew members and four passengers, including Biswal and his sister Anita Sahoo, were injured in the mishap.

Biswal was supposed to be airlifted to Mumbai   

Soon after the mishap, Biswal and his sister were rushed to a private hospital near Vedvyas in Rourkela. He was undergoing treatment at the ICU of the hospital.

As per reports, the authorities had planned to air-lift Biswal to a hospital in Mumbai aafter his condition deteriorated yesterday.

The authorities had arranged an air ambulance and Biswal was supposed to be air-lifted to Mumbai at 1.40 pm today. However, Biswal died before being taken to the Rourkela airport for the airlift, reports said.

Earlier in the day, Commerce and Transport Department Principal Secretary Usha Padhee and a senior official of the IndiaOne visited the hospital and enquired about Biswal’s health.

Biswal’s sister reportedly received at least 18 stiches on her head after sustaining injuries in the mishap. He is still undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Biswal suffered a massive heart attack  

“Despite timely medical intervention and coordinated efforts to provide advanced life-saving care, the critically injured survivor passed away during air evacuation to Mumbai for tertiary-level treatment,” said the private hospital in a statement.

As per the statement, Biswal had a history of heart failure and renal failure. He also developed lungs infection, which led to further deterioration of his condition.

“A team of health experts was constantly monitoring the situation. It was planned to shift the patient to Mumbai for better outcome. While being shifted to the air ambulance, the patient suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed. They medical team tried its best to revive him but could not,” said the hospital.