PASSENGERS WERE questioned and doctors were brought in yesterday as gardaí investigated the death of a 2½-year-old child on board a transatlantic jet after apparently becoming ill on board.
The Lufthansa flight was en route from Frankfurt International Airport in Germany to New York’s JFK airport when the captain declared a medical emergency and sought permission to divert to Shannon. A doctor on board the Boeing 747-400 jet had treated the child; however, efforts to resuscitate her failed.
A doctor and HSE paramedics were on standby when the jet landed at about 2.40pm; however, the infant girl had died before the plane touched down. She was pronounced dead at Shannon airport.
The child, who was from Eritrea, was travelling with her parents as part of a group of eight on their way to settle permanently in the US. The child’s parents were being comforted by friends and airport officials last night.
Gardaí travelled to the airport where statements were taken from crew members. Differences arose between the family and the authorities 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 examination.
The family of eight was part of a larger group of 24 people from Eritrea who were being relocated to the US as part of an international migration programme.
The eight family members remained in Shannon last night and were being accommodated at a hotel pending completion of Garda inquiries and the postmortem examination.
A second aircraft was flown to Shannon to take the remaining passengers on to New York. It was due to leave at around midnight.
The child’s body will be moved from the Midwestern Regional Hospital in Limerick to University College Hospital Cork today, where Deputy State Pathologists Dr Margaret Bolster and Dr Michael Curtis will conduct a postmortem examination.
Insp Tom Kennedy said: “This is a tragic and unusual situation but we have to investigate it like we would if it occurred here in Ireland. The child became ill and died quite suddenly and so we have to follow procedures until such time as the actual cause of death has been established.”
Originally the aircraft was refuelled in preparation for departure; however, at about 5pm the passengers were taken from the plane to the terminal building where those seated closest to the child were interviewed by gardaí. Interpreters were called in to assist with the interviews.
A large section at the rear of the jet was sealed off and was examined by forensics experts last night.
Gardaí 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.