Passenger dies after Air India flight makes emergency landing at Kolkata Airport

A routine long-haul flight from Canada's Vancouver to Delhi turned into a worst nightmare when 70-year-old Dalbir Singh, a Delhi resident, suddenly feeling ill with severe chest pain and breathing issues, forcing the Air India plane to make an emergency landing in Kolkata Airport. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 177 passengers including Dalbir Singh, had taken off smoothly but about midway through the journey in Kolkata Airport, the cabin crew noticed Singh sweating profusely and clutching his chest. Despite immediate first aid from onboard medics and oxygen support, his condition worsened rapidly, leading to the diversion that saved no one but highlighted the fragility of air travel for the elderly.

As the plane landed Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport yesterday night at 9:15 pm, ground staff and airport medical teams rushed Singh off the aircraft on a stretcher, while the other 176 passengers waited anxiously in the terminal. He was rushed away to the nearby Charnock Hospital in an ambulance, but doctors there sadly pronounced him dead on arrival, unable to revive him despite their best efforts. The flight resumed its path to Delhi just 55 minutes later at 10:10 pm, leaving passengers to process the shock of losing a fellow traveler mid-journey.

Victim Dalbir Singh's family, who were informed immediately reached Kolkata to claim his body. His body have been sent to RG Kar Medical College for a detailed post-mortem to determine the exact cause of death, with Kolkata police ruling out any foul play at this stage. Aviation authorities are reviewing the incident to check if protocols were followed, a somber reminder that even in the modern skies, health emergencies can strike without warning, urging airlines to bolster onboard medical kits for such heart-wrenching moments.