10 February 2024 , 15:10
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Terrified travellers screamed out after a fellow passenger started up coughing up "litres of blood" on the plane.
The 63-year-old, whose name hasn't been released, was travelling on a flight from Bangkok to Munich when his health rapidly deteriorated. Another passenger, Martin Missfelder, 53, from Zurich, recalled the "absolute horror" as "everyone was screaming".
After boarding, the man - who was travelling with his Filipina wife - started suffering "cold sweats" and his breathing became more rapid. Passengers rushed to his aid, giving him chamomile tea and trying to take his pulse, reports Swiss outlet Blick.
As the plane departed, his health suffered a rapid downturn. A huge "gush of blood" came out of his nose, before it splattered across the walls of the Airbus A380 aircraft. Before boarding, the man's wife told cabin crew he was unwell because they had to rush to catch the plane in Bangkok.
Martin's wife Karin, a 55-year-old nurse, recalled how a flight attendant became "very worried" on seeing the man's condition, but did say it was okay for him to stay on board. However, Karin intervened and told the staff that the man was in desperate need of medical attention. After a few minutes, the pilot came to see him and called for a doctor on the loudspeaker.
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The plane had been in the air for around an hour-and-a-half when the man tragically passed away (Flight Radar)A Polish doctor then checked his pulse but assessed him as being okay. Martin told Blick: "They then gave him a little chamomile tea, but he was already spitting blood into the bag that his wife held out to him."
Karin said that cabin crew did their best to resuscitate him for around 30 minutes but that the man couldn't be saved.
Describing the aftermath, she added: "It was dead quiet on board." The man's body was removed from his seat and the plane did a U-turn, returning back to Bangkok. The pilot also announced that there had been a death on board over the loudspeaker.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa told MailOnline the incident had taken place on their LH773 flight after being in the air for around an hour-and-a-half.