Kochi, Jun 22 (PTI) Pilots of the Indian Navy have pulled of a daring night-time mission, braving stormy monsoon weather, to airlift a seriously ill two-year-old child who was suffering from breathing problems from Agatti Island in Lakshwadeep off Kerala in the Arabian sea to Kochi city in a Dornier aircraft.
The toddler, who had aspiration pneumonia, was in respiratory failure and had suffered febrile seizures. She was accompanied by her mother, uncle, and a medical doctor, and was taken to the Medical Trust Hospital, in Ernakulam. A hospital spokesman said the little girl was admitted to the ICU and is on ventilator support as her blood pressure has been falling.
On receiving an urgent fax on Wednesday evening at the Headquarters of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi, seeking assistance for medical evacuation from a Naval Officer in Lakshadweep on request of the administration of the Union Territory, the Navy took up the medical evacuation mission forthwith, a defence source said. After more than an hour-long flight, the aircraft which took off from Kochi touched down in Agatti airfield, located over 450 km west of the coastal city in the Arabian sea.
The Dornier then returned to Kochi carrying the two-and-a-half-year-old and touched down at 9.50 pm, completing a nearly three-hour mission. The child was immediately shifted to the hospital.
“The patient was airlifted from Agatti Island and shifted to Kochi by Naval Dornier of INS Garuda in challenging weather conditions due to the prevailing monsoon. The child was immediately admitted to a civil hospital at Kochi and is recovering,” a defence release said.
“Monsoon season is always a challenge for pilots. That is what we are trained for,” a Navy official said, when asked about the risky mission at night in poor weather.
Talking to PTI, Sulaiman, the father of the little girl, expressed his gratitude to the Lakshadweep administration and the Indian Navy for their help.
The Defence source said ongoing efforts towards operationalising Agatti airfield for night operations had paved the way for undertaking quick humanitarian aid and casualty evacuation missions. The successful night trials were carried out at Agatti Airfield in October last year. PTI TGB TGB ANE
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