Update after dad died on Jet2 flight home to Liverpool
The family of a dad who died flying back from Bulgaria has confirmed his son's body has been returned home to the UK almost two weeks on from his tragic death. Chris Neill was flying back to Liverpool John Lennon Airport from Burgas, Bulgaria, on Monday, September 16, when he began to suffer chest pains while he was onboard the flight with his two sons Reece, 19, and Archie, eight, as well as Reece's girlfriend.
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.
Following the death, Chris's dad, Mal, 68, has now confirmed his body has been repatriated to the UK. He told the ECHO: "Chris's body arrived back yesterday but he still has to be cleared by a UK-based coroner as the German one didn't put a cause of death on the certificate. There may have to be an autopsy yet which will delay us being able to see him and any funeral."
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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."
Since the news broke about Chris's death, the GoFundMe has now reached just short of £24,000 at the time of writing, with the money covering the cost of the repatriation, German medical bills and funeral costs. Any money left over from the fundraiser will be put into trusts for Chris's sons, Mal confirmed.