Telangana Guv Tamilisai's timely help saves co-passenger

CHENNAI: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan turned into a messiah of sorts for her co-passenger in a Hyderabad-bound flight when the latter fainted due to chest pain Saturday. The Governor’s quick response to the SOS call of the cabinet crew was a source of immense relief for the man who had collapsed.

Speaking to DT Next, Soundararajan said, “I was on my way from Varanasi to Hyderabad transit via New Delhi. When everyone was asleep, an SOS call was passed by the cabin crew at 3.40 am asking if there was a doctor on the flight. I ran towards the crew and they explained that a passenger was in a medical emergency. I went to the man who was 20 seats away from me. With the assistance of the flight crew, I got the first aid kit and checked his parameters. He was drowsy and sweating due to indigestion,” she said.

The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry added that after giving him antacids and other drugs, she sat on a nearby seat for some time. “After reaching the Hyderabad airport, we sent the man to the airport medical facility,” she said, adding, flights should keep their first-aids in a ready-to-use stage and keep updating the contents.

“I did not say anything to point out mistakes. It was only an alert for the airlines. Since I am a medical professional, I first asked them for the BP apparatus and stethoscope. While I received it, the BP apparatus was kept inside a cover, and I had to put the batteries in. Therefore, I said that the emergency medical equipment should be ready for use at any given time,” she said. She further stressed that doctors travelling on board could be noted on travel charts as in railways for call SOS and also recalled an earlier incident where she helped out during one of her train journeys.