Injured diplomat flown home to Israel

A source in the hospital said two Israeli air ambulance crew members came to the hospital around 9 am to examine Tal and consulted the hospital authorities who had been monitoring her condition in the Intensive Care Unit.

The source said the discharge papers were prepared by noon,once the air ambulance team confirmed that they were “confident of managing her in the air”.

Tal was driven to IGI Airport in the evening,from where the air ambulance team took over. She left on a chartered flight to Tel Aviv around 6.30 pm.

Doctors said she was “thankful and cheerful” when she left the hospital premises.

Dr Arun Bhanot,chief of spinal services at Primus Hospital,said: “Her family had consulted us and made informal requests about the possibility of taking her to her home country. After 72 hours in the ICU,when her vitals were stable and her physical condition was improving,we thought she was fit enough to travel.”

Doctors operated on her and removed two “distorted” pieces of metal,which they said were distinguishable from other material recovered during surgery and cleansing of her wounds.

Tal was operated upon on Monday night,and a splinter was removed from her spinal cord.

“This splinter had been pressurising a nerve that controls movements in the left lower limb,thus causing partial paralysis in her feet and leg. Though it is too early to predict the prognosis,she has shown some improvement,” Bhanot said.