Melbourne, May 13 (ANI): The doctors attending to part-time taxi-driver Jalvinder Singh, who was stabbed several times and left bleeding profusely two weeks ago by the side of a Clifton Hill street, have described his recovery as "miraculous". They said that the knife stabs had almost reached his heart and pierced one of his lungs leading to loss of nearly five liters of blood.

The doctors said that due to heavy loss of blood, Jalvinder's heart stopped functioning for nearly ten minutes before being normalized through "open massage".

Royal Melbourne Hospital cardiothoracic surgeon, Alistair Royse, said he was amazed Singh survived the attack, in which he received four major stab wounds to the chest. "A knife wound to the front of the chest went through his breast bone and luckily missed his heart by a centimeter, while another went through his rib - his lung was penetrated causing five litres of blood to bleed into his chest but also an inability to breathe causing a loss of consciousness," The Age quoted Royse as saying.

When doctors opened up Singh's chest to assess his injuries, his heart stopped, forcing them to perform open heart massage for about 15 minutes. He required 25 units of blood and the medical team treating him debated whether to continue trying to save him, fearing he had been left unconscious for several hours so his brain injuries would be too severe, added the paper.

Thereafter, he was kept in an induced coma for nearly a week.

Royse said: "On Sunday we reversed the sedation and he woke up normal. It's remarkable, so therein, I think, lies the miracle of what's happened. On paper he had no prospects of survival but not only has he survived, I believe he will make a full and complete recovery once his wounds have healed, and (he will) have a normal life expectancy."

According to the doctor, Singh's youth, fitness and resilience helped save him.

Meanwhile, one of accused Parish Charles (45) of Alphington, who had stabbed the Indian taxi-driver, has been remanded to reappear in court on July 23 over the incident and faces charges including attempted murder. (ANI)