A Swiss flight attendant has died a week after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing by smoke

A flight attendant aboard a Swiss plane that made an emergency landing in Austria due to smoke in the cabin has died, the airline said Tuesday.

A flight from Bucharest to Zurich on December 23 was diverted to Graz due to engine problems and smoke in the cabin and cabin, according to Swiss International Air Lines. statement.

It says that the orderly died on Monday in intensive care at a hospital in Graz. The employee was one of two crew members who were hospitalized. All 74 passengers on board the Airbus A220-300 were evacuated after flight LX1885 landed safely, according to Swiss.

“We are devastated by the death of our dear colleague,” Swiss Chief Executive Officer Jens Fehlinger said in a statement. “His loss has left us all in deep shock and grief. Our thoughts are with his family whose pain we cannot imagine. I offer them my sincere condolences on behalf of all of us at Swiss.”

Swiss is a subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa.

Swiss said in a statement that “out of respect for loved ones, we will not be releasing any details about our employee or the cause of death.”

“Thank you in advance for helping the family have time and privacy to grieve,” the airline added.

Twelve passengers received medical attention after the incident, according to Agence France-Presse. The airline said on Tuesday that all passengers who were hospitalized have since been able to leave.

The prosecutor's office in Graz ordered a forensic medical examination of the attendant's body, the Austrian news agency APA reported. He also ordered an aviation examination and began an investigation into the cause of the crash.

After the incident, Swiss said it was also conducting an internal review.

“We want to thoroughly investigate the cause of the smoke and the impact on passengers and crew,” the airline wrote on Thursday. “The focus is on the mechanical parts of the aircraft, such as the engine, and the use of protective equipment for the cabin crew, known as protective breathing equipment.”

The airline said initial findings “point to a technical problem in one of the engines”, adding that it “is not ruling anything out and is working closely with the relevant authorities, engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and aircraft manufacturer Airbus”.

“This is the saddest day for all of us,” said Swiss operations director Oliver Buchhofer at a statement. “The loss of our SWISS colleague and teammate leaves me disappointed and disappointed. But we are supporting each other in this really difficult time; and together with the relevant authorities we will do our best to determine the reasons. We have a lot of questions, and we want them answered.”