A child who died of cardiac arrest on a flight from L.A. to Seattle on Thursday has been identified by officials as a 10-year-old girl from West Vancouver.
The Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner told Global News it is still investigating exactly how the girl, Janice Xu, died.
“We haven’t definitively confirmed the cause of death,” a spokesperson said, adding the autopsy results were still pending.
The spokesperson confirmed Xu died just after 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Delta Airlines flight, which left Los Angeles International Airport around 5:15 p.m., was diverted back to the airport around 6 p.m. after the girl suffered a medical emergency, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement that paramedics “furiously worked to save her life,” but “all efforts were futile and the child was beyond medical help.”
Xu was pronounced dead at the scene.
The fire department has given cardiac arrest as the cause of death.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told Global News it is waiting for the coroner to complete their investigation “and then we will take it from there.”
However, police do not believe Xu’s death was suspicious or criminal in nature.
Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Krystyna Dodds offered “deepest thoughts and sympathies” to Xu’s family and friends on behalf of the consulate.
“Consular officials are providing assistance to the family during this very difficult time,” she added.
—With files from Hannah Jackson
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