British Airways passenger ‘stabbed with broken bottle’ on flight to St Lucia

Crew forced to intervene when a man said to have smashed glass bottle before plunging broken shards into another man

A British Airways passenger appears to have been stabbed with a broken bottle during a fight on a plane to St Lucia.

The crew was forced to intervene when a man is said to have smashed a glass bottle in the galley and then plunged the broken shards into another man while travelling on the eight-hour-39-minute flight from London Gatwick on Monday.

“It was horrifying when the passenger broke the bottle then used the shards as a weapon,” said an unnamed source. “Suddenly there was blood in the cabin. No one knew how gruesome it was going to get. Witnessing that in such a confined space, and not knowing if or how the bloodshed was going to end, was horrific.”

Blood and glass can be seen spread around the cabin in footage and images, as terrified passengers watched the scene unfold just over an hour into their journey on Flight BA2159.

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The man, in a dark hat, denim jacket and glasses, also appears to ram the bottle into an overhead cabin, before the crew and other passengers wrestle the pair back into their seats on the Boeing 777 jet.

The two men were arrested on the tarmac by St Lucia police when the aircraft landed at 1.55pm, reported The Sun.

An unnamed source told the newspaper: “It was a truly frightening experience for the crowded passengers. There was a lot of understandable upset.

“The men were arguing throughout the flight after take-off from Gatwick Airport. The row turned into pushing and shoving then things suddenly got really nasty.

“Some very brave individuals separated the two men and got them back in their seats. It could have been so much worse.”

In one photo, the injured man, in a blood-stained vest, appears to be being treated by airline workers for a stab wound near his shoulder.

British Airways told The Independent: “We're shocked that anyone would act in this way and are grateful to our highly trained cabin crew and the customers who supported them in handling this difficult incident. We want to assure customers that this behaviour will never be tolerated and we will always take the appropriate action.”

St Lucia police are understood to be investigating the incident, according to The Sun.