A 67-year-old woman has died aboard an EasyJet flight from Tenerife to Liverpool, despite heroic efforts by fellow passengers who tried desperately to save her life mid-air.
The tragic incident unfolded on March 25, after the woman suffered a suspected cardiac arrest during the journey.
The Metro reports how fellow passengers - including a nurse and a physiotherapist - jumped into action when cabin crew asked for medical assistance. Another passenger joined them, and the three took turns performing CPR for nearly 50 minutes at 35,000 feet.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, one of the passengers who battled to save the woman revealed how crew onboard the flight had an oxygen tank and a defibrillator on-hand while he, the nurse, and the physiotherapist took turns performing CPR.
The woman was traveling with her husband at the time of the medical emergency. Despite the intense CPR effort and support from cabin crew, she passed away before the plane could make an emergency landing.
The flight, easyJet EZY3366, took off from the Canary Islands around 6:45PM but was quickly diverted to Santiago–Rosalía de Castro Airport in northern Spain.
Upon landing, police, paramedics, and a CID team boarded the aircraft while passengers were asked to remain seated.
"Flight EZY3366 from Tenerife to Liverpool on March 25 was required to divert to Santiago–Rosalía de Castro where it was met by paramedics due to a customer onboard requiring urgent medical attention," an easyJet spokesperson said in a statement, per the Daily Express.
"The well-being of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority. Our crew are trained to respond to medical issues and did everything possible during the flight, along with a medical professional who was assisting on board. We have remained in contact with the family and are continuing to offer our support and assistance."
Another witness described the efforts of those who tried to save the woman as "exemplary" and "unbelievable".
Spanish air traffic controllers also confirmed they had “facilitated a continuous descent and approach to runway 35” once informed the crew was “trying to revive a 67-year-old female passenger who is unconscious.”
Passengers were later offered overnight accommodation before continuing their journey to Liverpool the following day.
Our thoughts are with the passenger's family and loved ones at this time.
This story comes just weeks after a couple spoke out about being left "traumatized" when they were sat next to a dead body during a Qatar Airways flight.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were en route from Melbourne to Doha when a fellow passenger collapsed in the aisle beside them.
Despite the crew's best efforts to revive her, she tragically did not survive. “The staff were there in no time, and I pat them on the back, they did a wonderful job trying to revive her,” Ring told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon, per News.com.au.
“It [happened] right beside me in the aisle, and they did everything they could, but unfortunately, the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” he added.
According to Ring, the situation took an even more distressing turn when the flight crew placed the deceased passenger in a seat next to them - despite other empty seats being available.
Colin, visibly shaken while recounting the ordeal, described it as “traumatizing," adding: "I was really shocked...We totally understand that we can’t hold the airline responsible for the poor lady’s death, but there has to be a protocol then to look after the customers that are on board.”
For the next four hours of their journey, the couple sat beside the deceased passenger, who was covered in a blanket, until they landed in Doha. Colin was eventually able to move to another seat across the aisle, but Ring remained next to the body.
Upon arrival, the pair was instructed to stay in their seats while paramedics removed the woman’s body, a moment that Ring described as deeply unsettling.
Following the backlash over how the situation was handled, Qatar Airways addressed the incident.
A spokesperson for the airline told CNN that its "thoughts are with the family members of the passenger who sadly passed away on-board a recent Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia."
The airline added that it had reached out to both the family of the deceased passenger and the affected travelers to address their concerns. "The safety and comfort of all our passengers is of paramount importance to us," they concluded.