11-year-old child dies after losing consciousness on flight en route to New York

An 11-year-old boy has died after he lost consciousness on a flight heading to New York after taking off from Istanbul.

The Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Budapest, Hungary, where medics were unable to save the child’s life according to the MTI news agency.

The agency reported that the Airport Medical Service responded after flight TK003 made the emergency landing on Sunday, but the child’s life couldn’t be saved.

The flight took off at 8.56am local time in Turkey, heading to JFK airport in New York. It was quickly diverted after the boy became unconscious, officials at Budapest International Airport said, according to the New York Post.

The emergency landing took place at about 10.30am, with an ambulance ready to transport the boy and his family to a hospital.

“Airport Medical Service (AMS), the medical service operating at Ferenc Liszt International Airport, was alerted to the aircraft and continued to resuscitate the child,” an airport spokesperson said, according to the Post. “Despite the rapid and professional intervention, unfortunately, his life could not be saved. The aircraft continued its journey to its original destination.”

The identity of the child and the cause of death remains unclear.

The Independent has reached out to Turkish Airlines for comment.