16-Year-Old Iraqi Girl Dies Mid-Flight, Forcing Emergency Landing At Kolkata Airport

Kolkata: A 16-year-old Iraqi girl travelling with her family from Baghdad to Guangzhou in China fell sick mid-air and died. The Iraqi Airways flight IA-473 with 100 passengers and 15 crew members made an emergency landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) at 1:18 am on September 26. After offloading the girl and two co-passengers, the flight took off for its destination. 

According to an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson, the medical team present at the airport checked the sick passenger but they did not find a pulse or a heartbeat. They referred her to the nearest hospital where doctors announced her dead on arrival. 

Ipsita Kundu, the CEO of Charnock Hospital where the girl was admitted, the Baguiati police have registered a case of unnatural death and took the body from the hospital for necessary action, including a post-mortem. According to the hospital, the girl was a resident of the Sar Chinar police station area in Baghdad, Iraq.  

Police sources said that the family will be handed over the body to take home after the police investigation is completed and the NSCBI police station provides the NOC. They said it was difficult to talk to the girl’s relatives as they could not speak English. Iraqi Embassy in Delhi will be contacted, they added.