(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) An Indian infant, who died while on her maiden flight to join her father in Bahrain, was suffering from a heart disease, a family friend said. The distraught parents flew back home with her body on Tuesday.
A Gulf Air flight from Kochi to Manama was forced to make an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Monday morning after the child, Rishipriya, fell sick mid air. The girl was with her mother Aswani and was on her way to join her father Binoy who lives in Bahrain. The exact medical condition of the child was not clear on Monday. A friend of Binoy told Khaleej Times on Tuesday that the girl had undergone a heart surgery six months ago.
Abu Dhabi resident Prajeep Chandran said Rishipriya was born full term, hale and hearty.
However, she was diagnosed with a heart disease some four to five months after her birth. "She had a bout of pneumonia and the heart problem was detected during the treatment for that," he said.
Little Rishipriya went under the knife last August and recovered fast, he said. "She was doing fine and the doctors gave her a fit for flying certificate also." However, the child was running a temperature the day before the flight. Like most kids, she too cried aloud when the flight took off.
"Unfortunately, Aswani did not realise what was happening" Though she was holding the baby, the lights were off," said Chandran. As the baby's condition deteriorated, he said, a nurse on board offered help. However, she could not do much.
After the flight made an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi, Rishipriya was first rushed to Al Mafraq Hospital. But it was too late. She was declared dead on arrival. Her body was then shifted to the morgue at Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.
On hearing the heartbreaking news, Binoy contacted Chandran and his family took care of a shattered Aswani. Binoy flew in by Monday evening. "They both are shocked," said Chandran.
The young couple was to resume a happy family life after the mother and child's reunion with the father in Manama.
"Aswani had gone home for her delivery during the seventh month of her pregnancy. Binoy had gone down to Kerala during her delivery and also for the baby's surgery. He was waiting for them to join him," Chandran said, adding that the couple would have celebrated their little one's first birthday on April 9.
Instead, the devastated couple flew back to Kochi on the same flight with their baby's body on Tuesday evening.
Gulf Air officials assisted them with the paper works, said an official at the Indian Embassy, which registered the death.
The cause of death is recorded as "sudden infant death," he said.
Chandran said it was not clear if it was exactly the baby's heart condition or the high fever that might have caused the tragedy.
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