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Wednesday October 30, 2024

German man dies mid-flight after losing 'liters of blood'

"It was absolute horror, everyone was screaming," a passenger and witness said

By Web Desk
February 11, 2024
This combination of images shows the inside of the aircraft during flight (left) and the moment paramedics transferred the dead mans body. — Martin and Karin Missfelder via Blick
This combination of images shows the inside of the aircraft during flight (left) and the moment paramedics transferred the dead man's body. — Martin and Karin Missfelder via Blick

A passenger on board a recent Lufthansa flight from Thailand to Germany died during the flight after his fellow travellers watched in horror as blood gushed out of his mouth and nose, The New York Post reported.

Karin Missfelder, one of the passengers on board the flight, told Swiss German news outlet Blick that the unidentified German man, 63, boarded the Airbus A380 in Bangkok shortly before midnight visibly sick, with "cold sweats" and "breathing much too quickly".

According to Missfelder, who is a nursing specialist at University Hospital in Zurich, the man's wife initially claimed they had to rush to catch a flight, causing him to feel unwell.

However, she informed a flight attendant that he needed a doctor's examination after watching him for a few moments.

Then, a young Polish man responded and reportedly only asked the man how he was feeling, felt his pulse and said he was "ok".

"They gave him a little chamomile tea, but he already spit blood into the bag that his wife held out to him," said Missfelder's husband, Martin.

Soon, blood started spilling out of his mouth and nose.

"It was absolute horror, everyone was screaming," Martin said.

Martin claimed that the man lost "litres of blood", some of which splattered the walls. Flight attendants attempted CPR for half an hour, but Missfelder knew it was hopeless.

The staff carried the body into the plane's galley as it returned to Thailand.

"Although immediate and comprehensive first aid measures were taken by the crew and a doctor on board, the passenger died during the flight," a Lufthansa spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with the relatives of the deceased passenger. We also regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers of this flight," the spokesperson said.

According to flight data, the plane left Bangkok at 11:50pm on Thursday and landed back in Thailand at 8:28am Friday.

Passengers had to wait two hours without any guidance from Lufthansa before being booked on another flight to Germany with a stopover in Hong Kong.