Flight crews were forced to deal with a shocking violent incident on a flight from London Gatwick to St Lucia (Picture: AP)
A man was brutally stabbed with a broken glass bottle by another passenger on board a British Airways flight.
Chaotic violence broke out at 30,000ft just over an hour before the plane was due to arrive in the Caribbean from London Gatwick on Monday.
Horrifying footage filmed inside the cabin on flight BA2159 to St Lucia showed two men embroiled in a row as bystanders and crew tried to intervene.
The brawl reportedly erupted when a passenger, who had been arguing with another man, went to the kitchen area of the Boeing 777 jet and smashed a bottle.
After glass shattered across the galley in the food prep area, the aggressor, seen wearing a bucket hat, stormed back into the cabin and plunged the jagged-edged bottle into a man’s body.
Blood splattered across the cabin when he also ploughed the bottle into an overhead locker after the melee.
Brave British Airways staff heroically managed to wrestle him to the floor to bring the fracas to an end, reports The Sun.
The attack was described as ‘horrifying’ (Picture: Getty Images)
They were both warned and forced back to their seats, while the pilot was left with no choice but to continue until the plane could land at the island’s Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort.
One source told The Sun: ‘It was horrifying when the passenger broke the bottle then used the shards as a weapon.
‘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.
‘Some very brave individuals separated the two men and got them back in their seats. It could have been so much worse.’
British Airways cabin crew staff were praised for their brave actions to stop the violent attack (Picture: PA)
Passenger Nichola Pierre told MailOnline: ‘I was on board this flight and these guys were drinking and giving jokes with each other before this occurred.
‘One man got stabbed in the torso and the other guy in the back of the head before another gentleman and myself were able to calm down this guy who purchased a duty free wine bottle which he used to commit the act.’
The attacker, who is said to be from St Lucia, was reportedly arrested by police when the aircraft touched down.
One bystander who tried to help, also from St Lucia, was badly cut and treated by a nurse on the flight, while all those injured were taken to hospital upon arrival.
A St Lucia Police spokesman said: ‘We are looking into this with immediate effect. This is a very serious matter which occurred on a plane. This is very serious indeed.’
The identities of those involved in the incident have not been released at this stage.
A British Airways spokesperson said: ‘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.’
The shocking incident happened mid-flight.