A woman who held onto her husband’s legs after he was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane midflight has said she thought “if we die, we die together” as soon as the window smashed.
Speaking to Serbian media outlet Nova, Svetlana Grkovic said she grabbed her husband Ljubisa Karovic the moment the window smashed, and held onto his legs to stop him from being dragged out of the plane.
The incident happened soon after take off on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft which departed the Greek city of Thessaloniki bound for Memmingen, Germany.
The plane was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing back in Thessaloniki.
Passengers reported hearing a deafening bang soon after takeoff, which Grkovic said was caused by part of the engine breaking off and smashing the window next to her husband.
He was immediately sucked through the opening but his wife managed to hold onto him.
She told Nova: “I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: ‘If we die, we die together.’ It was horrible.”
Grkovic said many people fled to other sections of the plane for safety, but others stayed to help the couple.
“Some people came to my aid, I remember one man and one woman, that man helped me a lot, Ljubisa and me,” she said.
“I think he was Albanian, thank you very much. I didn’t remember his name, I don’t even know if he told me. I would like to meet him, to thank him personally again.”
Nova reported Karovic was still in hospital in Greece with serious injuries.
Grkovic said: “It’s important to me that he’s alive. He’s seriously injured and in shock. His hand is particularly badly injured, and he’s got burns. He’s not able to communicate, he doesn’t remember the whole event.”
The couple had been on holiday in Greece and were returning home.
Footage of the aftermath of the incident from inside the cabin, obtained by Radio Thessaloniki in Greece, shows the shattered window and released oxygen masks.
Ryanair said in a statement after the incident: “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight.
“The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki.”
Ryanair found a replacement aircraft, and the other passengers on the plane were able to complete their journey the same day.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
