Flight is diverted to Shannon as girl dies on plane
Wednesday April 23 2008
GARDAI are investigating the death of a young child on a transatlantic flight yesterday after the toddler apparently became ill on board.
The two-and-a-half-year-old girl from Eritrea was on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to New York which landed at Shannon Airport as a result of the medical emergency.
A doctor and paramedics were on standby at the airport when the jet landed shortly after 3pm. However, the young girl had died before the plane touched down.
The child was travelling with her parents and family, who were part of a larger group of 24 on their way to New York's JFK airport. The family group of eight were on their way to settle in the US as part of an international migration programme.
A doctor on board the Boeing 747-400 had attempted to resuscitate the child, but she was pronounced dead at the airport.
A dispute is understood to have arisen about jurisdiction over the child's body and whether it should be allowed continue the journey to the US or remain in Ireland for a postmortem.
Dehydration
The passengers were taken from the aircraft to the terminal building where they were interviewed by gardai. A second aircraft was flown into Shannon last night to take the passengers to New York.
The child's body was later removed from the aircraft and taken to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where a postmortem is expected to take place this morning.
Gardai are believed to be looking at the possibility that the child had been suffering from dehydration and may have been ill before boarding the flight. An airport source said that another possibility being explored is that the toddler may have choked during feeding
"The flight was diverted in to Shannon after the child became ill on board", said garda inspector Tom Kennedy.
"This is a very young child and we have to establish how she died. That is why we are speaking to the passengers and examining the area of the plane where the child was," he added.
Friends comforted the parents of the child last night.
- Pat Flynn
