A 23-year-old man from New Delhi who was admitted to an Indian hospital after a five-feet-long iron rod went through his chest has survived the accident.

Calling it the "rarest of the rare surgeries," doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) saved the life of a young executive, Supratim Dutta, whose chest, lungs, stomach and liver were pierced by an iron bar.

Dutta was on his way to his office when his driver lost control and collided with construction barricades on the road. The impact of the collision caused the iron rod to pierce through the dashboard and impale Dutta. The rod remained embedded inside his body for 90 minutes before he was taken to hospital, local newspapers reported.

Dutta, however, did not lose consciousness and instead called his relatives and friends on the phone. With the help of people passing by, the friend managed to cut the iron rod and rushed Dutta to the trauma center.

It took a six-hour surgery to remove the almost 3-pound angle iron that had pierced through his liver, stomach, spleen, left lung and perforated the upper part of the diaphragm at two places. Doctors said they faced a lot of difficulties as they could not give him anesthesia because of his inability to lie down.

Doctors chose to anesthetize him while in a sitting position and made a 15-inch incision in Dutta's chest, cut seven ribs and removed the spleen in order to take out the bar. He is recuperating at the trauma center and kept under constant observation as doctors fear the possibility of infection.

According to doctors, though most of his organs suffered damage, his spine was safe, enabling Dutta to move. He is responding well to the medicines and doing breathing exercises regularly, added doctors.