FELLOW passengers pulled back a man who was partially sucked out of a dislodged aeroplane window on Friday, a few minutes after takeoff on a flight from northern Greece to Germany.

The incident happened on a morning flight from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to Memmingen, near Munich, operated by Malta Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair.

Ryanair said in a statement the flight “returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged in-flight.”

The 61-year-old passenger, who was not identified by name, suffered neck and shoulder injuries and friction burns.

Passengers told Greek media that they heard a loud bang, oxygen masks dropped, and the plane began to lose altitude.

One passenger, identified only as Christina, told Radio Thessaloniki that some passengers panicked and screamed and that one passenger was partially sucked out of the window.

“His whole head, neck, shoulders” were pulled out of the window, she said, adding that those seated near him pulled him back in.

“Most people had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. We heard a sound, I’d describe it like a tyre bursting … but very loud,” she said. “We knew straight away we lost pressure because we lost altitude.”

She said there were “screams, shrieks, shouting.”

The airline has not said what caused the window to dislodge, but the US National Transportation Safety Board said it was notified that the flight turned back because of “a right engine issue and cabin decompression.”

Ryanair did not immediately respond to an email request seeking comment on the engine issue.