Lancashire family issue update after dad collapsed and died on Jet2 flight home

Chris Neill with his sons Reece and Archie
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


The grief-stricken family of a dad who tragically died on a flight home from Bulgaria with his children has confirmed that his body has now been brought back to the UK.

Chris Neill was on board a Jet2 flight destined for Liverpool John Lennon Airport from Burgas, Bulgaria, on Monday, September 16, when he experienced chest pains. This medical emergency led to the plane's diversion and an emergency landing in Cologne, Germany.

It is suspected that the father-of-two suffered a major heart attack, with an off-duty paramedic who helped him now sharing how the incident unfolded. His dad, Mal Neill, from Morecambe, 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.

READ MORE: Off-duty paramedic shares what happened before dad died on Jet2 flight home with kids

Mal, 68, has now confirmed Chris's 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."

Chris Neill died on board a flight home from Bulgaria on Monday, September 16
Chris Neill died on board a flight home from Bulgaria on Monday, September 16

In Mal's tribute to his son, 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."

A GoFundMe page in memory of Chris, who was flying with his two sons Reece, 19, and Archie, eight, as well as Reece's girlfriend, 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. To view the GoFundMe page, click here.

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