Chris Neill died while flying back to Liverpool with his children and his family are now trying to get his body home
An off-duty paramedic has shared what happened before a dad-of-two died while flying home with his two sons. Chris Neill was flying back to Liverpool John Lennon Airport from Burgas, Bulgaria, on Monday, September 16, when he began to suffer chest pains.
The Jet2 flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Cologne, Germany, where it is believed the dad-of-two suffered a severe heart attack, with an off-duty paramedic who helped him now sharing how the incident unfolded. His dad, Mal Neill, paid tribute to his son a week after his death as he and Chris’s mum, Lesley, urgently tried to raise funds to repatriate their 40-year-old son’s body from Germany.
Mal, 68, has now permitted the ECHO to report how the medical emergency unfolded after the paramedic who assisted Chris on the flight took to Facebook to explain what happened. Rach-Victoria Leyland wrote in a public social media post: “Permission given by Christopher’s Dad in desperate times!
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“As most of you are aware I attended a medical emergency last Monday on the flight home from Bulgaria. I was asked to assist with a 40-year-old male with chest pain, the male being Chris. It was apparent to me Chris was suffering from a massive MI, in simple terms a heart attack.
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“I did a few checks and interventions and made the decision to tell the crew that the pilot needed to do an emergency landing. I managed with the help of an off-duty colonoscopy nurse and the crew to get Chris to the front of the plane so I had space in case Chris needed any emergency care. Sadly after a few minutes of being sat at the front of the plane, Chris had a small seizure and went into cardiac arrest.
“Between myself the crew and the nurse we attached the AED and started chest compressions instantly working for over 30 mins. Sadly Chris had his 19-year-old son and son’s girlfriend and his eight-year-old son on the plane. I did a medical hand over on the runway to the German medical team.
“Chris Sadly passed away in hospital not so long after. Such a small world I have connected with Chris’s dad Mal Neill today as he actually lives in Morecambe and knows two good friends of mine. Mal sent me some flowers to work today bless him.”
In Mal’s tribute to his son from Runcorn, he praised Jet2 and asked for help in raising money to get his son home from Germany where his body remains. He said: “He was a staunch Everton fan and brought his children up as Everton fans.
“He lived life to the full and he was bubbly. He was 6ft 4in and went to the gym every day, he was massive. He lived for his children and when I was going through photos for the GoFundMe there are so many of him and his sons.
“He was full of fun, bubbly, he would do anything for anybody. I know people say that when someone dies but he would have. He was really liked by everyone.”
Paramedic Rach said in a post on Facebook: “His Dad Mal has set up a GoFundMe page in desperate need to get Chris home. Sadly, I did not manage to save Chris’s life, despite all our efforts, but I am going to do my upmost to help him get Chris home to his family where he belongs so they can put him to rest.”
In a note written by Mal to Rach, he said: “To Rach, thank you for all the help dealing with my son on the flight from Bulgaria. Will meet you soon. Lots of love, Mal.” To read more or donate to the fundraiser, click here.
