Staff at Tenerife Sur airport halted an 80-year-old traveler when personnel recognized his wife, seated in a wheelchair, showed no signs of responsiveness, according to US Sun.
Security personnel detected an issue as the husband transported his wife past the checkpoint screening. Workers identified that her body temperature had dropped to abnormal levels and initiated emergency procedures. Upon attempting to assist the passenger's wife, security staff realized she had stopped breathing.
Based on the husband's initial statements, the woman had been deceased for multiple hours. The 80-year-old passenger asserted his wife was present at the airport facility when her death occurred, according to US Sun.
An airport staff member provided an account to Diario de Avisos: "When she took the woman's hand, she noticed she had an abnormally low temperature and wasn't breathing. The worker immediately notified her supervisor. Within minutes, the emergency protocol was activated, and numerous security agents, Civil Guard officers, and forensic personnel arrived at the scene."
Authorities took the husband into custody at the location and launched an inquiry into the circumstances. Personnel stated the detained man alleged that airport infrastructure had resulted in his wife's death, according to US Sun.
The occurrence comes after a separate case last month where distressed travelers reported witnessing a British family transport a deceased relative onto an easyJet aircraft departing Spain for Britain, US Sun reported. Five family members carried the 89-year-old passenger aboard the Britain-bound aircraft, with witnesses reporting they informed airline personnel she was merely feeling ill. However, prior to departure, flight attendants determined the woman had expired, US Sun reported.
Airport personnel redirected the aircraft before it departed the tarmac, and the service was delayed by 12 hours. Travelers reported that flight attendants grew suspicious and confirmed she was deceased only after the aircraft had started moving toward the takeoff area, US Sun reported.
EasyJet maintained that the claims are baseless, according to US Sun. The airline stated that the traveler had medical clearance documentation and was alive when she entered the aircraft, US Sun reported.
