A flight attendant has recalled a rare experience of assisting in the transfer of a badly injured boy from Hotan City to Urumqi City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Zhao Yan, chief stewardess on the flight between Hotan and Urumqi, said that the captain notified her that he was taking the plane back to the terminal as it was poised for takeoff late on April 30.

An anxious father had arrived at the airport pleading for help as the clock approached midnight and the last flight of the day to the regional capital Urumqi – the one Zhao was on – was about to depart.

The man's seven-year-old son had wounded his arm in a tractor accident and was in urgent need of surgery in Urumqi. It didn't take long before the airline and relevant authorities approved the request and asked the plane to turn around to pick up the new passengers.

In an interview with a news website affiliated to the Chinese Ministry of Transport, Zhao said she worried the passengers would complain about the delay before breaking the news to them. But none raised an objection.

The cabin crew set up a special space for the injured boy on the plane and later donated money to help the family. As the doctors said the boy shouldn't fall asleep throughout the journey, Zhao helped keep him awake by playing music and used ice cubes to cool the severed limb.

During the flight, some passengers also helped take care of the boy, she recalled.

About 90 minutes later, the plane landed at the airport in Urumqi, where a medical team was waiting to take the boy to hospital.

A string of green channels with a police car leading the way helped make the transfer fast and smooth.

The operation took about three and a half hours early morning on May 1 and the severed arm was reattached.

"Thanks a million. Our family owes so much to everyone involved in the relay race," said the boy's father, who preferred to stay anonymous.

"We just had a special Labor Day," Li Li, one of the surgeons who performed the operation, said on his WeChat account.

"Everyone was racing against time to help retain the seven-year-old Uygur's arm," Li said. 

(With input from Xinhua)