On the night of 21 December 2025, around 8:30 pm at Udayamperoor near Kochi, three young doctors Dr Manoop B, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Kottayam Government Medical College Hospital, along with Dr Thomas Peter and his wife Dr Dideeya Thomas performed a daring emergency cricothyrotomy on Kollam native Linu using a razor blade and a drinking straw after a head-on bike collision choked his airway with blood clots from severe facial fractures.
Spotting the mangled two-wheelers while driving from Kochi to Kottayam, Dr Manoop led the effort, stabilising Linu roadside amid phone torchlights from bystanders and locals, before ambulance transfer to Welcare Hospital in Vyttila; tragically, Linu suffered cardiac arrest there, briefly revived, but succumbed to injuries on 23 December.
Dr Manoop praised the “godsend” teamwork; the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala Governor, and Opposition Leader VD Satheesan lauded their humanity and quick thinking as a model for emergencies.
Desperate Race Against Time
The accident unfolded on a dimly lit stretch prone to evening collisions, involving two two-wheelers carrying Linu (from Kollam), Manu, and Vipin, who collided head-on under poor visibility. Dr Manoop, en route home, screeched to a halt upon seeing the wreckage and three critically injured men strewn across the road; two were conscious with serious wounds, but Linu lay motionless in a dark corner under an electric post, helmet intact, face mangled and unresponsive.
“He was in full respiratory arrest his airway completely blocked by blood clots from jaw and facial fractures,” Dr Manoop later recounted, stressing the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) protocol they followed: first a jaw thrust to open the airway, which failed, necessitating the rare cricothyrotomy a surgical airway incision.
With no medical kit in sight and ambulances delayed, the doctors sprang into action. Dr Thomas Peter stabilised Linu’s neck to prevent spinal injury while removing the helmet, a critical step Dr Manoop highlighted as vital in crashes.
Dr Dideeya assisted as locals fetched a fresh razor from a nearby shop and provided a clean drinking straw. Under bystanders’ mobile phone lights and with police managing crowds to prevent filming distractions, Dr Manoop made a precise incision through the neck membrane (cricothyroid membrane), inserted the straw tube, and began manual ventilation literally breathing life into Linu by blowing air through it himself during the wait and even inside the arriving ambulance. This 20-30 minute ordeal bridged the “golden hour,” getting Linu a pulse before hospital handover; Manu and Vipin, meanwhile, received basic stabilisation from others at the scene.
Praise Amid Heartbreak and Systemic Gaps
Linu reached Welcare Hospital, Vyttila, within 15 minutes, underwent further resuscitation after cardiac arrest, showed signs of recovery initially, but his extensive internal injuries proved fatal by Tuesday, 23 December leaving a family in mourning and a community reflecting on road safety.
Kollam and Ernakulam police commended the seamless coordination, noting how bystanders avoided videos that could hinder aid, while Kottayam Police Superintendent S Sasidharan IPS (inferred from context) echoed that such interventions fill gaps in rural response times.
The IMA Kerala branch hailed the trio: “These young doctors exemplify using available resources innovatively, setting a benchmark for public emergencies,” urging widespread basic life support training.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar and Opposition Leader VD Satheesan publicly praised the act as “divine grace” and “humanity at its peak,” calling for national awards and better accident-prone road infrastructure like lighting and signage at Udayamperoor.
Dr Manoop, still reliving the adrenaline rush days later, emphasised teamwork: “It was a godsend the doctor couple arrived just when we needed expert hands for the helmet and neck; locals’ quick thinking with tools made it possible.” This incident spotlights Kerala’s high two-wheeler accident rates over 10,000 annually per state data often exacerbated by night riding without helmets or reflectors, underscoring the need for awareness campaigns.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
In the face of chaos on Kerala’s roads, this story of strangers uniting doctors wielding a razor and straw, locals with lights and calm embodies profound kindness, empathy, and coexistence that transforms potential despair into fleeting hope, even as we grieve Linu’s irreplaceable loss.
The Logical Indian stands firmly for fostering harmony through such everyday heroism, advocating mandatory first-aid modules in schools and workplaces, stricter enforcement of helmet laws, illuminated highways, and faster ambulance networks to empower every citizen as a potential lifesaver and prevent needless tragedies.
