An island paramedic has been hailed a hero after saving a heart attack’s victim life on a storm- battered plane.

Chris Morrison from Lewis leapt into action when a fellow passenger suffered a cardiac

arrest and stopped breathing.

Iain Mackay fell ill as wild winds hammered Loganair’s LM155 flight above the Western Isles.

Passengers were warned to be prepared for the plane to return to Inverness as storm force winds made it hazardous to land at Stornoway Airport on Tuesday afternoon.

A Loganair cabin crew member spotted 37- year- old Mr Mackay had become unresponsive on the journey from Inverness.

The casualty - who is Mr Morrison’s stepuncle - suffered a full cardiac arrest and the cabin crew member assisted with first aid and using an on- board defibrillator.

Despite the plane rocking wildly in the turbulence, Chris Morrison commenced CPR, pumping the casualty’s chest, in a desperate bid to bring him back to life.

The 28- year- old, who hails from Tong in Lewis and works as an emergency retrieval practitioner with the Scottish Ambulance Service at Dyce in Aberdeen, pulled the patient from his seat and onto the floor.

He cut Mr Mackay’s clothing and delivered a shock from the defibrillator provided by the stewardess.

“But he still didn’t have a pulse so it was back on the chest doing CPR,” said Mr Morrison.

Also travelling was a Lewis- based hospital nurse who took over resuscitation for a spell when Mr Morrison spoke to the pilot requesting an emergency landing.

He said: “I went back and carried on CPR. Then an announcement came over the tannoy for all passengers to adopt the brace position as it was going to be a bumpy landing.

“Everyone else buckled up but I continued resuscitation.”

Another passenger told Hebrides News the “brave” paramedic was “incredibly modest.”

“Witnessing that off- duty medic putting himself in danger to save the life of another was truly amazing and humbling.”

The passenger explained: “The plane was in a holding pattern due to high winds and the crew weren't sure if they were going to be able to land.

“During this time a man took unwell on board and went into a cardiac arrest during terrible turbulence.

“Without prompting, an off- duty paramedic - who happened to be on the flight - started CPR and resuscitated the man in the middle of the aisle in front of on- looking passengers.”

He delivered “several shocks” using a defibrillator, getting the casualty’s heart beating again and stabilising his condition, whilst the pilots radioed for assistance to meet the flight.

On the ground at Stornoway, the airport fire crew raced on board and helped until the ambulance crew arrived, he added.

The aircraft taxied to the airport fire station where an ambulance took the ill passenger to the Stornoway hospital.

Stornoway Coastguard helicopter later emergency airlifted Mr Mackay to a Glasgow hospital for specialist treatment where he is recovering from his ordeal.

A Loganair spokesman said: “Our first thoughts are with our passenger, whom we sincerely hope will recover from this major setback.

“We’re proud of the way that our cabin crew member handled this challenging situation on board, and would like to extend our gratitude to her and the off- duty paramedic for their professionalism and timely assistance.

“Tuesday’s events also have proven beyond all doubt that our choice to carry defibrillators on every Loganair aircraft was the right decision, although we trust that it will be quite some time before the need arises to use them again.”