Chris Neill, 40, was travelling with sons Reece, 20, and Archie, nine, when he fell ill on the flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Burgas on Monday, September 16, 2024
The dad of a man who died as he flew home from holiday with his children has paid tribute to his ‘bubbly’ son who ‘lived life to the full.’
Chris Neill, 40, was travelling with his sons Reece, 20, and Archie, nine, when he fell ill on the Jet2 flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Burgas on Monday, September 16, 2024.
The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Cologne, Germany, where it is believed Chris suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed as he disembarked the plane. Off-duty paramedic Rachel-Victoria Leyland attempted to save Chris’s life during the flight, but sadly he passed away.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Chris’s parents, Mal and Lesley, set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for their son’s repatriation.
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On the anniversary of his son’s death, Mal spoke to the ECHO about how the surplus money raised, which wasn’t used for the repatriation costing around £15,000, has been put into a trust fund for Reece and Archie after nearly £24,000 was collected.
Mal travelled to Germany the day after the incident to bring Reece and Archie back home to the UK, while he stayed behind in Cologne to liaise with the coroner, reports the Liverpool Echo.
A week after Chris’s death last year, Mal revealed to the ECHO that his son believed he had travel insurance through his bank, Halifax, but it had actually expired.
Now, Mal has urged people to make certain they have travel insurance sorted before jetting off on their holidays. He explained: “The GoFundMe fund paid for Chris’s repatriation and funeral and gave his two boys a small trust fund each.
“As mentioned at the time, Chris thought he had travel insurance through his bank account but had changed banks and didn’t realise the new account didn’t include it. It’s a lesson people should take heed of, always check your insurance and if you don’t have insurance, don’t take a chance thinking you won’t need any.”
Mal, 69, who is battling terminal cancer and resides in Bromborough, revealed how Reece, his partner and a group of their mates climbed Snowdon last week in tribute to his father, with the family maintaining a close bond with the woman who attempted to save Chris’ life.
He added: “We have become good friends with the paramedic who tried to treat Chris on the flight, Rachael-Victoria Leyland. She works in the Lancaster and Morecambe area and is very good friends with friends of ours who are paramedics. She attended Chris’s funeral in Runcorn with us where I introduced her to his friends.”
At the time, Rachael-Victoria posted on Facebook: “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.
“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.”
To donate to the GoFundMe click here.
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