The wife of a man who was partially sucked out of a Ryanair plane window at 20,000ft has described her desperate attempt to save him during the terrifying mid-air incident.

Ljubiša Karović, from Serbia, was travelling with his wife Svetlana Grković on a Ryanair flight on Friday, July 10, when disaster struck.

The couple were returning from a summer holiday in Greece when the aircraft suffered problems shortly after take-off from Thessaloniki at 5.55am local time.

The pilot noticed an issue with the engine while the plane was over North Macedonia and decided to turn back towards Thessaloniki.

During the descent, part of the damaged engine broke away and struck a cabin window next to where Mr Karović was sitting.

The impact caused the 61-year-old to be partially pulled out of the aircraft by the pressure inside the cabin.

His wife said she immediately grabbed hold of his legs as he was left hanging outside the plane.

Speaking to Nova, Ms Grković said: "It was as if a part of the engine broke off and hit the window next to which my husband Ljubiša was sitting.

"I reacted immediately and grabbed his legs. I thought: 'If we die, we die together.' It was horrible."

Ms Grković said she wanted to personally thank another passenger who helped save her husband’s life during the ordeal.

Mr Karović remains in hospital following the incident and is believed to be unable to speak because of his injuries.

His wife said he suffered friction burns, a badly injured hand and a number of other burns, while he was also left in a state of severe shock.

She said he lost consciousness several times during the incident and has little memory of what happened.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) 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 9:53 local this morning."