Man ‘sucked out’ of Ryanair window whilst sat with wife shares sad update

A man who was 'sucked out' of a Ryanair plane window while it was in flight has shared a sad update about his condition.

Serbian national Ljubisa Karović and his wife Svetlana were travelling from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany, when the terrifying incident happened moments after take off.

He recalled waking up to a sound like a bomb going off when his window was breached, and the rapid change in cabin pressure saw him be 'sucked out' of the window, with his head and shoulders outside the plane.

His terrified wife, who was seated three rows behind in 14C, rushed to help and was left holding onto his legs in desperation, trying to keep him from going out the window completely.

Karović has now opened up about the shocking accident with German newspaper Bild, saying he has unsurprisingly been left traumatised: "As soon as I close my eyes, I see pictures of what I experienced, those few minutes, it's a nightmare."

Ljubisa Karovic was left 'covered in blood' (Facebook/Ljubisa Karovic)

'If we die, we die together'

"For a moment I was conscious, but then I don't remember anything until they woke me - I was covered in blood," he recalled.

After the incident, Karović was left with severe friction burns in addition to serious injuries to his spine and shoulder, but says mentally he is 'destroyed'.

He said: "I can't go out, everything bothers me, mentally I am destroyed, this has had a huge impact on my life. Whenever I hear the sound of a plane, I become stressed."

Karović's wife, Svetlana, told Serbian-language outlet Nova how she responded when she realised what had happened, selflessly putting herself at risk too to try to save him.

"I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: 'If we die, we die together.' It was horrible," she said.

After an initial period of being frozen in shock, other passengers ran to her aid.

"One man, I think he was an Albanian, was incredible. He did all he could to bring him in and then tried to block the window, first with a bag that was immediately sucked out and then with a suitcase, which worked. We are eternally grateful to him," she praised.

Svetlana told how she held onto Ljubisa Karović's legs to keep him inside the plane (BBC)

Svetlana also told BBC Serbia: "We pulled him back together. His entire face was deformed and blood was pouring from his nose and mouth."

The passenger added: "I am lucky, I don’t remember much and my head and neck still hurt, but I am still alive."

The couple say doctors have told Karović his recovery will take months and he potentially needs many more surgeries.

Ryanair says early reports say a 'foreign object' seems to have hit the plane's engine, breaking off a fan blade which hit the window next to Karović.

Ryanair released 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."