A 47-year-old Bangladeshi passenger has died after fainting on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Dhaka to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police said they received a report shortly after 8am on Wednesday that the man collapsed on flight CX662 arriving from the Bangladeshi capital.
Officers declared the man dead at the scene, the force said, adding that an autopsy would be carried out to ascertain the cause of death.
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According to the Airport Authority, the flight departed from Dhaka at 2am local time and arrived in Hong Kong at 7.49am on Wednesday.
Cathay Pacific later confirmed that the passenger was found unconscious during a pre-landing check on the Dhaka-Hong Kong flight.
The airline said an ambulance was called and paramedics came on board immediately after the plane landed at Hong Kong International Airport.
“Unfortunately, the passenger passed away. We are deeply saddened by this loss and extend our heartfelt condolences to the passenger’s family,” it said.
On September 8, a German passenger died after he fainted on a Cathay flight from Hong Kong to Mumbai shortly before its scheduled departure.
The aircrew rushed to provide first aid to the 71-year-old passenger when he collapsed just before take-off, with the man later declared dead after being taken to hospital.
A plane was reportedly forced to land in Hong Kong earlier this month when a Vietnamese woman fainted on the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Seoul. The woman, 47, was pronounced dead after she was transported to North Lantau Hospital.
Five year ago, a woman, 44, lost consciousness on a flight to Hong Kong and was sent to the same hospital, which is located near the airport. She was declared dead later.
Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association urged any passenger who felt seriously unwell on a flight to tell the cabin crew, saying it was the most important thing to do.
Dr Yang Siu-ming, council member of Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine, said anyone with a cardiovascular or respiratory disease should ask doctors about whether they were safe to fly.
Yang also urged anyone who had recently undergone brain and eye operations or had been diving to wait a while before choosing to fly.
People could also prevent “economy class syndrome”, a condition where blood clots form inside a blood vessel after sitting for too long during a long-haul flight, by taking a short walk every one to two hours, he added.
More from South China Morning Post:
- German passenger dies after passing out on Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong
- Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific axes 22 more flights over engine problem, bringing total to 90
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