BANGKOK, THAILAND – An unidentified 63-year-old German passenger died during a Lufthansa flight from Bangkok to Germany on Thursday, in an event that left fellow passengers terrified as blood poured from his mouth and nose.
The man boarded the Airbus A380 appearing noticeably unwell, exhibiting “cold sweats” and rapid breathing, as reported by Karin Missfelder, a nursing specialist at University Hospital in Zurich, to Swiss German media outlet Blick. The man’s wife initially attributed his condition to rushing to catch the flight.
Having observed the man’s state, Missfelder alerted a flight attendant to have a doctor assess him. A young Polish passenger responded to the call. However, a brief interaction and pulse check were all the examination entailed. The ailing man was given chamomile tea, but he soon began to spit blood into a bag his wife held out for him.
The situation escalated as blood started to gush from the man’s mouth and nose. “It was absolute horror, everyone was screaming,” shared Martin Missfelder, Karin’s husband. He estimated that liters of blood were lost and even splattered on the plane’s walls.
CPR was attempted by flight attendants for about half an hour after the man fell still and was officially declared dead. His body was then moved to the galley and the plane returned to Thailand.
The passengers, including the man’s alone bereaved wife, had to endure a two-hour period of uncertainty before being booked on an alternative flight to Germany via Hong Kong. Reflecting on the grim incident, Karin Missfelder expressed regret for not intervening when she saw the doctor’s initial interaction with the man.
Lufthansa has yet to comment on the matter.