Horror as father-to-be, 33, collapses and dies on Ryanair flight while his pregnant wife was sitting in a different row of seats

A 33-year-old father-to-be died on a RyanAir flight in Italy after suffering a heart attack while his pregnant wife was sitting at the other end of the plane.

Giuseppe Stilo, 33, received medical assistance from two trained passengers after falling sick on flight FR8780 from Turin to Lamezia Terme on Wednesday morning.

Despite their efforts, staff were forced to step in with a defibrillator and began trying to save the Ferrero employee from Filogaso as the plane diverted back to Turin.

Doctors rushed on board with adrenaline after landing back in Caselle some thirty five minutes after takeoff - but the man was soon pronounced dead.

It was also only after arriving back in Turin that his wife Federica Marella learned of her husband's death, leading to her being taken to the nearby Ciriè hospital in a state of shock, according to local media.

Mr Stilo, who was travelling with his four-months pregnant wife towards their families in Calabria, began to feel ill after setting off from Caselle airport in Turin around 11am yesterday, LaStampa reported.

The plane's pilot was notified and made the decision to return back to the departure airport, turning the plane around less than an hour into the 1hr45m expected flight time.

Two passengers trained as doctors stepped in to help Mr Stilo, beginning resuscitation efforts together with flight staff.

This included chest compressions and use of the on-board defibrillator, according to local media.

Doctors were waiting nearby for the plane to land back in Turin in arrived with adrenaline and another defibrillator, but declared the man dead after issuing a third shock.

It took 36 minutes for the plane to make the diversion and land back in Turin, Corriere Torino reported.

Mr Stilo had reportedly only recently started a new role as an employee of the Ferrero factory in Alba.

He was married in June last year and lived in Vezza d'Alba with his wife, also originally from Vibo Valentina.

The father-to-be was reportedly an avid traveller who enjoyed talking long walks with his wife, and was an altar boy growing up. 

Hours after the tragedy, it was revealed rescue teams had suffered delays of more than ten minutes accessing the airport gate.

Sagat, Azienda Zero and ASL To4 denied the reports.

ASL To4, the local health authority, said in a statement: 'There was no delay in the rescue.

'The medical personnel on duty at the airport emergency room were preparing on the runway to provide aid and the 118 operations centre, alerted to the situation, sent the basic ambulance from Borgaro Torinese, followed by the vehicle with doctor and nurse based in Venaria.' 

'It should be noted that the first ambulance with volunteers was waiting at the gate and took about 2 minutes to access the airport grounds,' the statement continued.

'In the meantime the patient had three doctors with defibrillator and adrenaline who were assisting him, while the 118 medical team entered immediately.'

Giuseppe Stilo was also reported as being aged 34 and 35 in some Italian outlets. 

MailOnline approached RyanAir for comment.