Bus driver saves unconscious passenger: report

Driver Oh Myeong-seok approaches the unconscious female passenger in the bus on Oct. 22. (Seoul Bus Transport Association)

A driver of a Seoul bus who resuscitated an unconscious female passenger is being praised for his quick thinking and appropriate measures, a local media outlet reported Tuesday.

According to Newsis, the incident occurred at around 6:53 p.m. on Oct. 22 as a No. 3217 was waiting for the light to change. The passenger, who had been standing near the door, suddenly fainted and fell to the floor.

A surveillance footage of the bus, revealed by the Seoul Bus Transport Association, showed the driver Oh Myeong-seok putting the car in park and heading toward the woman. He performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the woman while asking another passenger to call the 119 emergency service.

The woman regained consciousness two minutes later.

In order to minimize disorder, Oh got off the bus and instructed other cars to go around while waiting for the emergency workers. He returned to the driver's seat only after being assured by the emergency workers that the passenger would be safely taken home.

The incident was made public when the passenger of Oh's bus who was asked to call 119 praised Oh on the website of the driver's company, Hanseo Transportation.

"When nobody else would step up, the driver calmly took measures to ensure that the lady would regain consciousness," the passenger wrote.

Oh told local media that while he was initially shocked and scared, he stepped up because "it happened in his bus."

He said he never expected to encounter a situation where he would put his CPR training, which he learned after joining Hanseo Transportation, to use.

"I never thought I would have to do CPR. You just have to be calm and do as you've been taught, and anyone could do so in dangerous situation," he was quoted as saying.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)