11 March 2024 , 19:32
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A British doctor has told of the "miraculous" moment he helped a woman deliver a baby on a Wizz Air flight before it was forced to make an emergency landing.
Hassan Khan answered a call for any doctors on board when the lady began entering labour two hours into the flight from Amman, Jordan, to London Luton Airport on Saturday. The 28-year-old doctor - who works at Basildon Hospital, Essex - said he found the mother laid down outside the cockpit, and her waters had broken. The woman, who is 38 and from Jordan, gave birth to a healthy girl.
She will now belong to what it believed to be a very exclusive group of babies born in the sky, as flight attendants told the doctor that she was only the 75th to be delivered on a commercial flight. Hassan said he had told the flight attendants what equipment he needed to help the woman through labour, including an oxygen mask, a clamp for the umbilical chord and a stethoscope, but they had none of these on board.
The mother and baby were taken to hospital after the plane made an emergency landing in Italy (CEN)The woman did not speak English, meaning another person on the flight had to translate for her. His experience in neonatal resuscitation was also required in the moment, as the girl came out "a little bit blue". The Wizz Air flight diverted to Brindisi Airport in the south of Italy, and the woman and newborn taken to hospital
Dr Khan, who has been a doctor for four years told the BBC: "I was actually late to my shift because of this diversion, but thankfully they were very impressed and wanted the full update. My consultant congratulated me and said it was a really good job. People were saying it was miraculous. I only realised how significant it was after I had the chance to process it all." An update from the family in hospital later confirmed that the mum and baby were in a good condition - something he described as a "big sigh of relief".
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A Wizz Air spokesperson told the Mirror: “A baby born in the sky is always a heart-warming event. Wizz Air employees are well trained to handle all kinds of situations and we were delighted that a doctor was also onboard to help deliver the baby. The flight was diverted to Brindisi Airport where the passenger and newborn were greeted by local medical services. We are delighted that both mum and baby are doing well and wish them all the best.”