London, March 19 (DPA) A horror-struck air passenger has told a British tabloid that he spent five hours sitting next to a woman who had died on a British Airways (BA) flight from New Delhi to London.

Paul Trinder, 54, told the Daily Mirror Monday that he woke in the first class cabin to discover that cabin crew were strapping the body of a woman, who died after the plane took off, into the seat across the aisle.

He watched in horror as the corpse repeatedly slid beneath the seatbelt on to the cabin floor of the Boeing 747, Trinder told the paper.

"I woke to see cabin crew manoeuvring what looked like a sack of potatoes into the seat. Slowly, through the darkness, I realised it was a body. At first, I thought I was dreaming. Then I was convinced it was a big wind-up.

"The corpse was strapped into the seat but because of turbulence it kept slipping down on to the floor. It was horrific. The body had to be wedged in place with lots of pillows."

"Then the relatives were allowed to sit in First Class and spent the next five hours wailing and weeping," he added.

BA said the body was moved from Economy on the Boeing 747 because there was more space in First Class.

"We apologise, but our crew were working in difficult circumstances and chose the option they thought would cause least disruption," BA said.