Three days after the mid-air collision of two Suryakiran aircraft in Bengaluru, one of the two surviving pilots walked out of the Intensive Care Unit of the Air Force Command Hospital, where he has been undergoing treatment since 19 February.
On Friday, 22 February, Wing Commander Vijay Shelke made the effort of walking out himself to meet Chethan Kumar, whose effort to comfort the pilot after the crash had made the 22-year-old engineering student the cynosure of attention. In a video that has since been shared widely on social media, Kumar can be heard reassuring the pilot to “stay calm” and that help was on its way.
Kumar said he was delighted to see the pilot in such good health. He was also told that the other pilot, Squadron Leader Tejeshwar Singh, was also doing well.
“It was such a relief to see him, I was so happy. His family hugged me and my friend also. Sir spoke to me well and said that he remembers talking to me and holding my hand. He also remembers hearing another smaller explosion when I was with him. It was great to see him recovering well.”Chethan Kumar to The Quint
“His father was speaking to me in Hindi. Vijay sir’s brother Akash said I don’t understand Hindi, so he started translating for me. We spent around 15 minutes together. His wife was also there, she was also very nice to me,” Kumar added.
The engineering student also said that he was contacted by the pilot’s brother Akash Shelke on Thursday, 21 February.
“I got a call around 8 pm. He said he was the pilot’s brother and that Sir wanted to meet me. He said that they would arrange a vehicle if I could come immediately. But since it was late, I decided to go on Friday morning,” he said.
He went on to say that he was received with hugs and smiles by the family. “They were very nice to us. They said that we should visit him when Sir has recovered at their home town. I was very happy to see him,” he said.
Kumar was one of the first people to rush towards the crash site as the planes fell near the ISRO layout, 20 feet away from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, where he studies aeronautical engineering.
He comforted Shelke for around 10 minutes as they waited for help to arrive. Coming under fire for filming at an accident spot, Kumar later said that his only intention was to record what was happening when the planes collided, and that he did not expect to find the pilots there.
A third IAF pilot, who was in one of the two Suryakiran planes, succumbed to his injuries.
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