10-year-old girl suffers medical emergency on flight, dies at LAX, California cops say

A child died at Los Angeles International Airport after she went into cardiac arrest mid-flight, authorities said.

A Delta Air Lines flight was en route from Los Angeles to Seattle on Thursday when 10-year-old Janice Xu suffered a medical emergency on board, CNN reported. The plane turned around and returned to LAX, where Xu was pronounced dead.

“Paramedics and a number of people came in and the young girl was in the back in the galley and they were doing CPR on her for a long time,” passenger Terry Fisher said to WCYB News.

The Los Angeles Fire Department released a statement confirming Xu’s death.

“LAFD paramedics responded to a medical aid for a minor female child and furiously worked to save her life. Sadly, all efforts were futile and the child was beyond medical help,” the statement read.

The Los Angeles Police Department told KTLA that it didn’t believe foul play was involved.

Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office told CNN that an autopsy will be conducted in the next few days.

This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 9:50 AM.