At IGI, a dead body stayed in a plane for over an hour-and-half

New Delhi: In another incident that highlights the deplorable state of affairs at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, authorities took over 90 minutes to remove the body of a passenger who died on board a flight.
Fr M A Joseph from the Meerut diocese had boarded the Delhi-Trivandrum flight IC 466. On way, he apparently developed a breathing problem. The passenger next to him later told police that he was using an inhaler repeatedly. Ten minutes before the flight landed, the priest collapsed.
“Though the pilot had informed the ATC that there was a patient on board who needed medical care urgently, the plane was sent to a remote bay. The bay 146 is next to the taxiway and the ambulift takes around half-an-hour to reach the aircraft,” said a senior airport official.
The aircraft landed in Delhi at 10:50 am.
“The airport doctor arrived on board after 20 minutes and declared Fr Jospeh dead. But the body was kept inside the plane as the police was supposed to come and provide clearance,” said Fr Varghese Matmana, who was on the same flight on his way from Kanyakumari.
The airlines officials kept waiting for the police — who were stationed at the domestic terminal itself, technically, a few minutes away — till 12.20 pm. Finally, they took the body out of the aircraft and tried to take it out from the VIP exit at terminal 1-A. But the CISF personnel posted there intervened — pointing out that this exit was not meant for the body. Eventually, the airline officials prevailed and the body was taken to the medical unit. “The police came at the medical unit to give the clearance around 12.30. Finally, at 3 pm, the body was handed over to the family,” Fr Matmana said.
The Indian Airlines officials, however, deny that there was a delay in removing the body from the aircraft.
12/06/08 Expressindia.com

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Categories: Air India Domestic Jun 2008, Airports Jun 2008