Mumbai:
In a span of over six-hours on Wednesday, two deaths were reported at the city airport with one passenger declared dead on-board a Yemen Airways flight while a Dubai-bound passenger collapsed at the check-in counter of an overseas airline.
In the first incident, the Yemeni national was declared dead on-board a Yemen Airways flight to Mumbai, by a co-passenger doctor.
The deceased, a 24-year-old woman, was suffering from cancer and travelling to Mumbai from the Yemeni city of Saana for treatment at city's Cancer Research Institute of Tata Memorial Hospital, an airline source said.
"She was suffering from cancer and coming to Mumbai for treatment at Tata Hospital with her husband, father and mother," the source said.
Her body was taken to the Cooper Hospital and it will now be taken to Saana in the next flight, which is on Friday, the source said.
"The passenger Jameah Ahmed Ahmed died on board the IY-854 before landing at Mumbai airport. She was a known case of non-hodgkinslymphoma. She became breathless and unresponsive on board at about 4.30 am. She was declared dead by a co-passenger doctor at 4.55 am. On landing, airport doctors checked her again but no pulse or blood pressure was not recordable. Her body was handed over to the police," a Mumbai international Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said.
In the second incident, Radheyshyam Mukhil, a 67-year-old person died of cardiac arrest at the Emirates check-in counter at 12.45 pm.
Mukhil, who was accompanied by his wife was to take the Emirates flight, EK-502, to Dubai.
"The doctors were called in and they gave him artificial respiration, but he did not respond to the treatment. He was taken to an ambulance to take him for further treatment but was declared dead by the doctor at 13.05 pm," a MIAL spokperson said.
An Emirates spokesperson confirmed the incident and said that the passenger's life could not be saved despite best efforts by the airport staff.
"Emirates confirms that an Indian male national suffered chest pain and discomfort prior to check-in on EK-507 bound for Dubai from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on June 2," the airline said in a statement.
The passenger was provided immediate medical aid by the airport authorities and an ambulance for treatment, the statement added.