Man dies of heart attack on flight to Bangkok

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways on Thursday confirmed the death of a 58-year-old man following a heart attack on its flight from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok on Wednesday.

The plane returned to Abu Dhabi and made an emergency landing to offload the body.

An Etihad Airways spokesman said: “Etihad Airways regrets to confirm that an 58-year-old male passenger passed away on board flight EY406 from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok on October 21. The crew commenced their return to Abu Dhabi 40 minutes into the flight. Upon arrival, medics entered the aircraft and declared that the guest had passed away. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of our passenger.”

The passengers were asked to wait at Abu Dhabi International Airport till another flight was prepared to fly them to Bangkok, according to an eye witness.

A passenger on the plane, flying with her housemaid, told Gulf News that she saw crew members performing CPR on the man.

“I was not sitting close to the man when this happened, but my maid was. It was a complete shock for us, especially for our maid, because you don’t expect things like this to happen,” she said.