An eight-year-old girl has died after she became “ill and unresponsive” on a SkyWest flight to Chicago.
The flight took off from Joplin, Missouri, and was headed to Chicago before making an emergency landing in Peoria, Illinois, on Thursday local time.
“Her family immediately notified the flight personnel of her condition, and they began rapidly rendering aid. Upon landing in Peoria, she was not breathing and had no pulse,” according to a statement from the Peoria County Coroner’s Office.
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The child was identified as Sydney Weston, of Carl Junction, Missouri, the coroner’s office said.
The plane landed at the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport about 7am local time because of a medical emergency, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
Emergency personnel, including deputies and the Air National Guard, attempted “life-saving measures”, but the child was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
SkyWest Airlines confirmed that the child was aboard flight 5121, operating as United Express, from Joplin to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, when a passenger became sick and the flight was diverted to Peoria.
There, she was “met by paramedics to attend to a passenger in medical distress. We appreciate the efforts of our crew members who responded quickly to assist and the medical personnel who met the aircraft,” SkyWest said.
The girl died shortly after 8am local time, the coroner’s office said.
“There was no evidence of foul play and no signs of abuse or neglect,” the coroner’s office said in a statement Friday.
But a preliminary autopsy was inconclusive “and pending several studies”, it said.
Medical personnel is awaiting histology, biopsies, cultures, blood haematology and chemistry, and toxicology testing. Results generally take four to six weeks.
“Once we have those tests completed, it is our hope that we will be able to provide a definitive and exact cause of death for this little girl and give her family some answers,” according to the coroner’s office.
In a statement shared by Mason-Woodard Mortuary & Crematory, Sydney’s family said she was looking forward to their summer holiday and celebrating her birthday on June 21.
“Sydney Mae bounced into this world ready to light it up with her infectious joy and vigorous love for life. She will forever be remembered for the happiness she brought to every single person she encountered. Our hearts are heavy. She was our baby girl and we celebrate her beautiful life,” the statement said.
The family of Sydney Weston could not be immediately reached for comment.