Brussels Attacks: Flight Attendant Nidhi Chaphekar In Stable Condition, Says Jet

The image of Nidhi Chaphekar (r) taken right after the blast was one of the most searing photographs taken on Tuesday.

Highlights

1. Nidhi Chaphekar has burns in over 15% of her body and a fractured foot
2. Ms Chaphekar was injured in the Brussels airport blasts on Tuesday
3. Her photograph is among the most haunting images of the attack

Flight attendant Nidhi Chaphekar who was injured in the Brussels airport blasts is in stable condition and recovering, her airline Jet Airways said  today.

The airline said earlier reports that Ms Chaphekar is in a coma were incorrect. "The doctor has confirmed that Nidhi is in stable condition and not in coma," Jet Airways said in a statement. "She is resting and under sedation for her comfort."

Ms Chapekar, who suffered burns and fractured her foot in the explosions on Tuesday, has been treated at a hospital near Brussels.

A photograph of her taken right after the airport blasts has become an iconic image of the attacks. It showed the 40-year-old mother of two sitting dazed and bloodied, with her bright yellow uniform ripped.

Her hair was caked with soot, and blood streaked down her face.

Ms Chaphekar's husband, who flew from Mumbai to Paris and travelled by road to Brussels, is at the hospital with her.

Meanwhile, Jet flew out the passengers who were stuck in Brussels after the attacks. Some passengers returned to Delhi early Friday, while others left for Newark from Amsterdam.

Tuesday's bombings in the Brussels airport and subway killed 31 people and wounded 270. 

Brussels attack: Three days on, 242 Indians stranded after return home without their baggage

A Jet Airways aircraft on Friday brought back 242 Indians including 28 crew members, who were stranded following the deadly terror attacks on airport and metro station in the Belgian capital Brussels on Tuesday.

The 'recovery' flight 9W 1229 from Amsterdam, which landed here this morning, also carried on board the passengers who were bound for Mumbai as their flight was cancelled at the last minute due to a technical problem in the aircraft.

The airline had earlier taken all its stranded passengers in Brussels to the Dutch capital by road.

"The flight 9W 1229 carrying 214 passengers, including 69 bound for Mumbai, along with 28 Jet Airways crew members landed at IGI airport at 5.10 AM," a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

"I was coming from Toronto and as soon as we arrived at the airport and when to the arrival bay, within 15 minutes they were asking us to evacuate as soon as possible. We had no idea what had happened," a woman passenger said after arriving here while narrating her ordeal at the Brussels airport.

People mourning the Brussels attacks. AP

She said that there were hundreds of passengers running out with their baggage. "From there we found out that there were three blasts."

"The blast occurred in the departure area of the airport as soon as our flight had landed. They took all of us out and we remained stranded there for quite some time," said another passenger.

Jet Airways on Thursday operated two flights from Amsterdam for Toronto and Delhi after transporting all its stranded passengers in Brussels to the Dutch capital by road.

It had initially planned to fly three recovery flights from Amsterdam including one to Mumbai after pulling out all its four grounded aircraft from the Brussels airport.

However, it had to cancel the Mumbai flight at the last moment as the aircraft developed some problem, forcing the airline to combine the two flights into one.

The aircraft, which brought back the passengers to Delhi, was later flown to Mumbai with 69 passengers onboard, Jet Airways said.

"I was just landing when the blast took place. So, we could not get inside the airport (terminal building)," said another passenger.

"We were taken to some other place. We were taken care of very well," he said.

Tuesday's suicide attacks in Brussels left 31 dead and 300 wounded.