Wife of man ‘sucked out’ of Ryanair window made harrowing admission about the incident

A woman whose husband was partially 'sucked out' of a plane window during a nightmarish mid-air emergency has revealed the terrifying thought that went through her head as she fought to save him.

Svetlana and Ljubiša Grković made headlines last week when their Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki, Greece to Memmingen, Germany, took a dramatic turn.

During the journey on Friday (10 July), Serbian national Ljubiša was partially sucked out of a dislodged cabin window.

Svetlana is now sharing her memories of the traumatic incident, explaining that her husband was 'outside up to his chest' for two minutes.

Speaking to Serbian news outlet Nova, she recalled: "I immediately reacted and grabbed his legs. I thought: 'If we die, we die together.'"

One of the cabin windows shattered on the Ryanair flight to Germany (Getty Stock Image)

'I feared for our lives'

Reports from the couple and other passengers on the flight have claimed that Ljubiša's entire head and shoulders were outside the aircraft when his wife Svetlana and other passengers grabbed his legs to pull him back in.

Svetlana has said that her husband, 61, is 'seriously injured and in shock', BBC News reports.

She continued: "It's important to me that he's alive... his hand is particularly badly injured, and he's got burns. He's not able to communicate, he doesn't remember the whole event."

In a statement seen by Reuters, the Serbian consulate said that Ljubiša did not face life-threatening injuries.

Svetlana also told Greek outlet ERT that 'whenever he [Ljubiša] hears about aeroplanes, he starts shaking'.

Explaining that she's also in a 'very bad psychological state', she added: "I feared for our lives. I was afraid the plane was going to crash."

Svetlana Grković has spoken out about the shocking incident (BBC)

Svetlana continued: "I am constantly doing something to take me mind of what happened, but those images just won't leave. Yesterday I got into an elevator, and I suddenly felt a terrible sense of suffocation.

"Now the question is whether we will ever get on a plane again."

What has Ryanair said?

Providing a statement to Tyla, a Ryanair spokesperson confirmed: "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."

The airline added: "One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning."

The aircraft returned safely to the ground (Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP via Getty Images)

According to local media, Ljubiša is still in hospital while investigations into the incident continue.

The investigation, being led by North Macedonia, is being assisted by Boeing.

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), which confirmed that a window broke on the Ryanair flight, has also said it is ready to support the investigation.