'Wounded Indian flydubai captain in good health'

The Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates met with the wounded captain from the flydubai flight on Thursday, with the embassy saying he was in "good health and recovering well." Ambassador Deepak Mittal met with "Captain Smit Machchhar and his family at the hospital. Captain Machchhar is in good health and recovering well," the Indian embassy in the UAE wrote on X. The pilot, an Indian national, was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia after being attacked mid-air by his co-pilot and the plane made an emergency landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk on Wednesday, but Indian media reports suggested he was airlifted to the UAE on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on the "Fox & Friends" TV show, said Machchhar "was stabbed in the head and his arm was basically split in two and there was a lot of blood." Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his actions helped save hundreds of lives and avert "a great tragedy." "Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO," Modi said in a post on social media. (AFP) Edited by Robert Kemp

2026-10-02 04:34:00