An IndiGo flight bound for Lucknow from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport on Tuesday morning after a passenger fell ill, reported the Hindustan Times. However, the passenger, identified as Habeeb-ur-Rehman, died before the flight could land.
“IndiGo flight 6E 1412 from Sharjah to Lucknow was diverted to Karachi due to a medical emergency,” a statement from the airline said, according to ANI. “Unfortunately, the passenger could not be revived and was declared dead on arrival by the airport medical team.”
The captain of the plane had contacted Karachi Air Traffic Control and sought permission to land on humanitarian grounds. After the doctors confirmed that 62-year-old Habeeb-ur-Rehman had died, necessary steps and documentation were carried out and the plane took off for Ahmedabad, according to The Express Tribune.
The pilot of the aircraft had asked the plane to be sanitised at the Karachi airport but the authorities denied the request, said an official at the Lucknow airport. The plane was then sanitised at Ahmedabad before it took off for Lucknow.
The airline extended condolences to the family of the passenger, according to PTI. “We are deeply saddened with the news and our prayers and wishes are with his family,” it said.
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