Tragedy struck aboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Manchester to Hong Kong as a 51-year-old man passed away.
The unfortunate incident occurred during flight CX216, which took off from Manchester Airport at 11:04 am BST on Thursday and touched down at Hong Kong International Airport at 6:53 am HKT on Friday (11:53 pm BST on Thursday). Authorities in Hong Kong were alerted by air traffic controllers at around 6:15 am local time after a passenger was reported to have collapsed on the plane, as per the Hong Kong Free Press.
An autopsy is currently in progress to determine the cause of death. The deceased individual has been identified in local sources as Mr. Chen.
According to reports from HK01, Mr. Chen, an insurance broker who had relocated to the UK with his family, had been battling cancer since the middle of the previous year, necessitating frequent trips between Hong Kong and the UK for medical appointments and business engagements.
HK01 revealed that Mr. Chen informed his wife of feeling unwell during the flight, with his wife regularly checking on him. She observed his unresponsiveness approximately two hours before the flight’s conclusion.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, a spokesperson for Hong Kong’s flag carrier confirmed that “the crew and a doctor on board had administered immediate first aid to the passenger.” The spokesperson mentioned that an ambulance was summoned, and paramedics boarded the aircraft upon landing.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners employ data gathered through cookies and other identifiers from your device to enhance the user experience on our site, analyze usage patterns, and deliver personalized advertisements. You have the option to decline the sale or sharing of your data by clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage at any time. Kindly note that your preferences are specific to the browser used. Your use of our website and services indicates your consent to the utilization of cookies and agreement to the practices outlined in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.