A Ryanair passenger was 'sucked up to his shoulders' out of a shattered plane window during a flight, fellow travellers on board have claimed. With his head trapped outside the smashed window, nearby passengers held the man down to prevent more of his body being sucked further out of the aircraft mid-flight this morning. The Boeing 737-800 flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Memmingen, Germany, had to turn back and land at its departure airport following the dramatic incident. The jet took off from Greece as planned at 5.55am local time, but shortly after takeoff at an altitude of approximately 20,000ft, a loud bang was heard on board. A witness told the German Press Agency (dpa) that a window smashed, as seen in videos circulating on social media. Shortly after the sudden noise, a man seated next to the window was 'sucked' through, according to BILD. 'His head and shoulders were sticking out of the broken window,' another eyewitness told Greek broadcaster ERT. The man's wife apparently held him by his legs for about five minutes, after which fellow passengers were able to pull him back into the cabin as oxygen masks dropped down.

A Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (July 10) 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. 'In order to minimise any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9.53am local this morning.' According to publicly available flight data, the Ryanair plane landed back in Thessaloniki after one hour and 14 minutes.

The injured passenger is believed to be a 61-year-old Serbian national. He was wounded in the neck by the impact and also sustained abrasions and burns, according to De Telegraaf. The man is understood to be conscious but in a state of shock. A pregnant woman also on board the flight was taken to hospital. According to local media, she is in good health and has since left the hospital. Greek media is speculating that the incident was caused when part of the plane's engine broke off, causing damage to the window. The pilot then decided to turn around and return immediately to Thessaloniki airport.