india

Updated: Nov 16, 2019 09:02 IST

A four-month-old girl died on board a SpiceJet Surat-Mumbai flight on Friday. A post-mortem investigation could not establish the cause of death and samples from body tissues have been sent to Sir JJ Hospital.

Riya, who was with her mother Preeti Jindal and grandparents, could have lost consciousness on board without her family realising it, according to airline sources. According to airport sources, Riya and her mother were taken to the airport medical room after the flight landed in Mumbai.

“The infant did not respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), after which she was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where she was declared dead,” said an airport official.

The child was taken to Nanavati Hospital where she was declared dead before admission. Officials from the hospital refused to comment.

The flight took off from Jaipur for Mumbai via Surat. The family boarded the flight from Surat.

Sources in the airline said, “The mother told doctors that she had fed her daughter around 5.30 am after which the baby went to sleep. The family noticed there was no movement from the child on board, but did not report it to the crew, assuming the child was asleep.” As the aircraft was taxiing after landing in Mumbai, the family realising that the child was still unresponsive, reported it to the crew, after which emergency medical assistance was requested.

A SpiceJet spokesperson, in a statement, said: “After landing, a passenger informed the crew that her daughter is unconscious. ATC was requested for medical assistance, while the aircraft was taxing to the parking bay. The infant was deplaned along with her mother and grandparents and taken to hospital.”

Sources said infant was taken to Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital for a post-mortem, which could not establish the cause of death.

“An accidental death report was registered, after which the infant was taken to Cooper hospital for a post-mortem. As the cause of death was found to be unknown, the samples were sent to JJ hospital for further investigation.”