Abu Dhabi: An 11-month-old Indian child died aboard a flight from India to Bahrain on Monday, according to a relative of the family.
When the infant showed physical discomfort, the Gulf Air flight from Kochi to Bahrain made an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi airport Monday morning, but she had already died, the relative, Ratheesh Kumar, told Gulf News.
The infant, Rishi Priya, boarded the flight with her mother, Aswani Binoy, early on Monday morning bound for Bahrain where the child’s father, Binoy Mundakkal, is working, Kumar said.
A senior official at Abu Dhabi Airport confirmed the incident. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, told Gulf News: “The flight was given priority in the landing queue. The airport medical team was waiting at the gate. Unfortunately, the infant died. Her body was transferred to Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.”
Al Haddabi added that the infant’s mother was assisted with a temporary visa and then transported to a relative’s residence in Abu Dhabi.
Priya was the only child of the couple from Thrissur district in the south Indian state of Kerala. They married in 2012.
Kumar said the child had been suffering from mild fever since Sunday and they consulted a doctor back home. The child was reportedly fit to fly.
“Unfortunately, the child’s body temperature rose and she started shivering mid-way through the flight. The flight made an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi airport, but she died,” Kumar said.
The child’s father was expected to reach Abu Dhabi later on Monday.
The body will be flown to Kerala for the last rites, Kumar said.
