President of Uruguay Tabare Vasquez Saves Girl on Plane from Choking

The President of Uruguay Tabare Vasquez performed a heroic act thanks to his quick thinking. In a recent flight to Paris, Vasquez saved a 17-year-old from choking.

In an incident that happened on Monday, Presidential spokesperson Jose Luis Veiga talked about the how the young woman found difficulty breathing while on the flight to Paris, said a report by The Telegraph. 

Vasquez, who studied medicine at the Universidad de la Republica Medical School assisted the teenager when she had difficulty breathing. 

In a report with Fox News Latino, the pilot had made the announcement over the speakers asking if there was a doctor onboard. Vasquez immediately took action with his medical team.

Veiga reported that the teenager appeared to be choking and when her condition did not seem to improve, Vasquez's medical team revived her with an injection.

The president of Uruguay has made considerable developments in education and working conditions in the country. He has also made an effort to reduce poverty.

Uruguay had recently helped a group of Syrian refugees find shelter and sanctuary in another country. Vasquez said that he had reached out to Lebanon since that was the country that the refugees wanted to go to.

"Uruguay is going to do everything it can for the Syrians," Vazquez said in an interview. "We proposed to them that they freely choose the country where they want to go, and the government will talk with that country's authorities to see if they want to welcome them."

The 17-year-old teenager was coming home from a hockey tournament in Buenos Aires and apparently ingested food which might have contained nuts. The girl was allergic to nuts which caused her to choke.  The incident might "have been serious" if not for the efforts by Vasquez and his medical team which included Vasquez's personal doctor Mario Zelarayan.

"Her throat was almost entirely closed, to explain it in a simple manner," said Zelarayan in an interview.

This is reportedly the third time Vazquez had offered medical assistance on a plane: he once aided an American woman when she had an asthma attack during one of those times. 

Vasquez took the place of Jose Mujica, who earned fame as "the world's poorest president" in March of this year.  

Vasquez was travelling to France for a state visit. The girl's mother reportedly thanked the President upon arrival to France.