Child pronounced dead after Saudi flight makes emergency landing in St. John’s

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Police in St. John’s, N.L., say a two-year-old child was pronounced dead after an international flight made an emergency landing at the city’s airport today.

A spokeswoman with the St. John’s International Airport says Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 35 landed in the provincial capital at around 11:40 a.m. because of a medical emergency.

Police officers and paramedics responded, and the toddler was pronounced dead shortly after the plane landed, according to Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Const. James Cadigan.

Cadigan says police do not believe the death was suspicious.

The office of the province’s chief medical examiner will confirm the cause of death.

The flight bound for Washington, D.C., from Jidda, Saudi Arabia took off from St. John’s at 3 p.m.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2019.