Woman stung by scorpion on Air India flight

Passenger taken to hospital and later discharged after plane landed in Mumbai

Air India staff carried out a thorough inspection of the plane and the scorpion was caught. Reuters

A woman was stung by a scorpion on an Air India flight in an “extremely rare and unfortunate incident”, the airline said.

The Indian woman was travelling from Nagpur to Mumbai on April 23.

She was seen by a doctor at Mumbai airport soon after the plane landed and rushed to the hospital. She was later discharged.

“Our officials accompanied the passenger to the hospital and offered all support to the passenger until discharge,” an Air India representative told The National.

Airline staff carried out a thorough inspection of the plane and the scorpion was caught.

“Our team followed the protocol and conducted a complete inspection of the aircraft and found the scorpion, after which a fumigation process was carried out,” the representative added. “We sincerely regret the agony and inconvenience caused to the passenger.”

The scorpion attack is the second incident involving animals and India's airlines in recent months.

A snake was found on an Air India Express flight, a fully-owned division of Air India, travelling from Kozhikode in Kerala to Dubai in December.

Staff on the Boeing 737 found the snake in the cargo hold after the plane landed in the emirate. All passengers were disembarked safely and the plane was fumigated.