Co-pilot suffers heart attack just before takeoff

The co-pilot of a South Korea- bound flight from Thailand today suffered a heart attack and died when plane was preparing for takeoff, forcing the airline to cancel the flight.

All 186 passengers scheduled to fly to South Korea this morning from the island of Phuket had to spend extra time at the resort town after the co-pilot of the Eastarjet Flight ZE532 died, Bangkok Post said.

Lim Hyun Soo, the 41-year-old South Korean co-pilot for plane suffered a heart attack while it was preparing for takeoff.

Lim was rushed to hospital. He later was declared dead.

The budget airline cancelled the flight scheduled and the passengers were put up in a hotel till another flight was arranged, the Post said.