On Spirit Airlines Flight, Woman Overdoses, Doctor Saves Her

An Airbus A320 (A320-200) jetliner, belonging to Spirit Airlines, lands at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 1, 2017. (Larry MacDougal via AP)

By    |   Tuesday, 15 August 2017 11:42 AM EDT ET

On a Spirit Airlines flight, a doctor saved a woman's life who reportedly overdosed while flying from Boston to Minneapolis on Friday.

Dr. Anil Punjabi, a Boston cardiologist, was credited with saving the woman, according to the International Business Times.

Punjabi is said to have had a little help from crew members and passengers who helped keep the woman alive for 25 minutes while the pilot made an emergency landing.

According to Fox affiliate WFXT, the woman, who remains unidentified, was in the bathroom for a long period of time before passengers told the crew.

When the woman returned to her seat, she was slumped over and appeared to have stopped breathing.

Punjabi was then called upon to help the woman.

Punjabi, members of the crew, a nurse, and an EMT trainee performed CPR on the woman as the plane made an emergency landing.

While working on the woman, they reportedly found a needle in the woman's bra that led them to believe she had overdosed.

"We were down on the ground within 25 minutes, but at that time she was completely unresponsive," Punjabi told WFXT.

“It's not an uncommon sight. Even if you walk around Boston, you know there are certain areas you know that are affected by this more than others. It was actually pretty shocking that this would happen on a plane," he added.

Punjabi is now urging Spirit Airlines to add Narcan — used for opioid overdoses — to their med kits.

"You need to talk to your union, you need to talk to Spirit, you need to talk to the company. I said the one thing you need to get in your med kit is Narcan," Punjabi said.

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On a Spirit Airlines flight, a doctor saved a woman's life who reportedly overdosed while flying from Boston to Minneapolis on Friday.
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Tuesday, 15 August 2017 11:42 AM
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