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Flight Attendant Dies on Plane in Front of Passengers on New Year's Eve The British Airways flight was set to take off from London to Hong Kong.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Passengers on a British Airways flight were traumatized during the holiday rush when a flight attendant died in front of their eyes just as it was about to take off from London's Heathrow Airport.

The 52-year-old flight attendant collapsed after the cabin doors had been shut. The flight was set to jet to Hong Kong just before 6:00 p.m. local time on December 31.

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crew, a patient was pronounced dead at the scene," London Ambulance Service told local outlet Metro UK.

Related: British Airways Uniform Policy Noted What Color Bra to Wear

Reports state that the captain called for medical assistance, and one passenger who was trained in first aid attempted to revive the crew member, but he was pronounced dead when first responders arrived.

The airline delayed the flight due to a "medical emergency" and took off the next day.

"Our thoughts are with our colleagues' family and friends at this difficult time," British Airways told the UK Sun in a statement.

The cause of the crew member's death is not yet known. It has been noted that he had no known underlying health issues at the time.

This is not the first death of a British Airways crewmember in recent weeks.

Related: British Airways Serves '1 Piece' of KFC to Hungry Passengers

A different 52-year-old employee was found dead on December 23 in a hotel near Newark Airport while in between flights, causing the cancelation of his next flight.

British Airways did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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