11-year-old girl on Turkish Airlines flight dies after falling ill, company says
Plane makes emergency landing in Budapest, Hungary, in attempt to save passenger
An 11-year-old girl has died after falling unconscious on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York City, the airline says.
The plane made an emergency landing Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, in an attempt to save the child, but first responders there were unsuccessful.
"Our cabin crew made the announcement on the PA system for any doctors on board while the captain of the flight immediately diverted to Budapest," the airline said in a statement to Fox Business.
"As a doctor among our passengers attended the situation and performed heart massage, our cockpit crew made an emergency landing in Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport," the Turkish Airlines statement added. "Emergency medical teams boarded the aircraft for further treatment but despite all efforts, [the] passenger couldn’t be saved."
A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 lands in Amsterdam in January 2022. A Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York was diverted Sunday after a girl became unconscious, reports say. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File / Getty Images)
Members of the girl’s family got off the plane at the airport in Hungary, and the flight then continued to New York City, arriving after a more than four-hour delay, according to Turkish Airlines.
A Boeing 787 for Turkish Airlines is seen on the production line at a Boeing factory. The airline said it offers its "heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones and share their pain" following the girl's death on Sunday. (Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images/File / Getty Images)
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"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones and share their pain," the company said.
Passenger planes for Turkish Airlines and Emirates are seen at Istanbul Airport on June 25, 2021. (Mehmet Eser/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The identity of the deceased child was not revealed and the nature of the medical episode she suffered was not immediately clear.