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Pret inquest: Flight crew did not use defibrillator on dying girl | Pret inquest: Flight crew did not use defibrillator on dying girl |
(35 minutes later) | |
Flight attendants did not use a defibrillator on a girl who suffered a fatal allergic reaction because they chose to cover the plane's emergency exits, an inquest has heard. | Flight attendants did not use a defibrillator on a girl who suffered a fatal allergic reaction because they chose to cover the plane's emergency exits, an inquest has heard. |
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, went into cardiac arrest on a flight after eating a baguette from Pret A Manger in 2016. | Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, went into cardiac arrest on a flight after eating a baguette from Pret A Manger in 2016. |
Staff on the British Airways plane said it was too dangerous to fetch the defibrillator during landing. | Staff on the British Airways plane said it was too dangerous to fetch the defibrillator during landing. |
Natasha had suffered an allergic reaction to the sesame in the baguette. | Natasha had suffered an allergic reaction to the sesame in the baguette. |
The teenager, from Fulham, west London, went into cardiac arrest minutes before her flight from Heathrow to Nice landed on 17 July 2016. | The teenager, from Fulham, west London, went into cardiac arrest minutes before her flight from Heathrow to Nice landed on 17 July 2016. |
'Doors take priority' | 'Doors take priority' |
BA head of cabin crew John Harris said it was a formal requirement of his training to ensure that cabin crew were in position on landing so they could get passengers off the aircraft in case of an emergency. | BA head of cabin crew John Harris said it was a formal requirement of his training to ensure that cabin crew were in position on landing so they could get passengers off the aircraft in case of an emergency. |
He said: "Without sounding harsh, the coverage of doors takes priority. | He said: "Without sounding harsh, the coverage of doors takes priority. |
"There were only five cabin crew on that particular flight and the aircraft had four sets of doors, totalling eight doors, and one cabin crew member was out of action. | "There were only five cabin crew on that particular flight and the aircraft had four sets of doors, totalling eight doors, and one cabin crew member was out of action. |
"So we literally had the minimum number of crew to cover those doors." | "So we literally had the minimum number of crew to cover those doors." |
BA flight attendant Mario Ballestri told the inquest it would have been too dangerous to get the defibrillator from the other end of the aircraft. | BA flight attendant Mario Ballestri told the inquest it would have been too dangerous to get the defibrillator from the other end of the aircraft. |
Mr Ballestri had helped a junior doctor as he tried to resuscitate Natasha, West London Coroner's Court heard. | Mr Ballestri had helped a junior doctor as he tried to resuscitate Natasha, West London Coroner's Court heard. |
A defibrillator was used on her after landing, when paramedics arrived, but she died in hospital in Nice later. | A defibrillator was used on her after landing, when paramedics arrived, but she died in hospital in Nice later. |
Earlier in the inquest Coroner Dr Sean Cummings raised concerns over rules which meant Pret did not have to provide ingredient labelling on the baguette Natasha bought at Heathrow Terminal 5 shortly before take-off. | |
When food is handmade and packaged on the premises, businesses are not required to put allergen information on each individual food item, the hearing was told. | |
Hillingdon Council food safety officer Bridget Saunders told the court: "I think the distinction was made really to deal with small, independent high street premises which perhaps prepare food on site and put it into a bag to sell to customers coming in." | |
She added: "The regulations make no distinction with Pret, with their huge turnover." | |
Dr Cummings said it was "strange" that Pret, "an organisation that sells 218 million items (a year)", should be able to benefit from the same regulation as "a local sandwich shop". | |
"A cynic might think it was almost a device to get around regulations relating to identifying food allergens," he added. | |
Mrs Saunders said she found no issues with the way Pret provided allergy information during an inspection of the Heathrow branch in February 2016. | |
Natasha's father claims there was no label on the fridge the day his daughter died - although the manager that day said he was "confident and sure" stickers were in place. | |
Natasha had pleaded with her father to help her as she struggled to breathe following a reaction to the sesame "hidden" in the baguette dough, the court heard previously. | |
The inquest is expected to last until Friday. | The inquest is expected to last until Friday. |