Chinese flight made emergency landing to rescue passenger

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The route of China Eastern Airlines from Beijing to Sydney ejected 17 tons of fuel and made an alternate landing in Saipan on November 25, 2017, in order to rescue a passenger who was suffering from a stroke.

MU727 took off at 19:40 from Nanjing after stop-over and continued its journey to Sydney. At 21:25, a male passenger suddenly sank into unconsciousness with slight breath.

CCTV Photo

A doctor on board checked the man, who suffered cerebral hemorrhage before diagnosing him as either having cerebral infarction or a stroke.

Captain Zhang Xu told CCTV that by that time the flight came close to Saipan airport, the patient was advised to receive further treatment, where landing contacts and guaranteed measures could be facilitated by local China Eastern Airlines office.

CCTV Photo

After gaining support from all passengers on board, the flight released 17 tons of fuel and landed in Saipan at 00:08 on November 25.

Fuel dumping is a routine when a plane is forced to land earlier than expected as damage may occur to the aircraft when it hit the ground too hard with heavy weight.

CCTV File Photo

The patient was later transferred to local hospital and is in now in stable condition. He will return to China once his physical condition has improved.

With the situation under control, the flight was ready to take off again after refuel with all data cleared within an hour and 49 minutes.