Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Captain Smit Machchhar survived severe bleeding to his head and hand after a mid-air attack on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight, with a dentist on board working for 45 minutes to keep him alive. Dr Shuta Musaev, a Georgian dentist living in Israel, said he used makeshift pressure dressings and ice packs after Machchhar was stabbed in what was described as an apparent attempt by co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, to crash the aircraft carrying more than 170 passengers.
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Musaev told ABC News that Machchhar’s condition became critical during the flight, with his pulse dropping dangerously low. On Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said Machchhar, who has been hailed as a “hero” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “continues to make steady progress and is regaining his health” at a hospital in the UAE.
Recounting the incident, Musaev said he rushed forward after hearing screams, helped restrain the attacker and then turned to the injured captain. “I think, how (can) I help this situation for all (the passengers for all plane. How I can help?” he said. “And I see one pilot on the floor, with…blood.” Another passenger, Yaniv Hayun, dragged the suspect from the cockpit, took control of the plane and levelled it before a third pilot took control of the flight.
Musaev said Machchhar had wounds to his head, neck and hands. Speaking to The National from Holon, south of Tel Aviv, he said, “There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand.” He said he first used T-shirts to press the wounds, but the bleeding did not stop. “I asked the stewards for ice,” he said.
“He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes, I kept the pressure on,” Musaev said. He added that he kept talking to the pilot to keep him conscious. “I told him, ‘Please don’t sleep, we need you.’ I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, ‘Don’t be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon’.”
Musaev said the pilot gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help with the pain. “Everything will be good,” Musaev said he told him. “He said to me, ‘Help me, please. Help me, please. I don’t want to die here’.” Musaev added, “He was cut badly and would say, ‘I’m feeling hot on my hands.’ I kept telling him that he would be OK.”
As Machchhar’s vital signs worsened, Musaev said he raised his feet. “At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up and the pulse came back,” he said. “When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, ‘We need to land quickly. He doesn’t have much more time’.” In videos shared on social media, Machchhar can be heard asking for painkillers, but Musaev said he only gave him small sips of water because of the heavy bleeding. “He was lying on his back and I hesitated to lift him because I didn’t want re-bleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine but I didn’t agree.”
Musaev said he kept monitoring whether Machchhar was talking, staying awake, his pulse and the colour of his lips. He also said a small group of passengers kept checking for any more terrorists until the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. Once on the ground, he handed the captain over to doctors, telling him, “Good luck, my friend. Everything will be good.” He also said that on the day of the attack, Machchhar was lying injured on the cockpit floor when he realised the plane was descending and made “one last push” to open the cockpit door.
Musaev said he and his wife suffered post-traumatic stress in the days after the incident. He also praised the pilot’s actions, saying, “Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family and all the passengers. It’s karma, he saved our lives, and we saved his life.” The Indian Embassy later said Machchhar was continuing to recover, capping an incident in which passengers and crew worked together to bring the flight down safely and keep the injured captain alive.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
