Baby born on Jeju Air flight dies; police investigating

JEJU AIR BOEING 737-8JP HL-8336 (MSN 39016)

Police have launched an investigation after a newborn died aboard a flight from the Philippines to Incheon International Airport.

According to the Incheon International Airport Police on Sunday, a report was made to emergency services at 6:44 a.m. that “a baby born on the plane is not breathing.” The infant, a newborn boy, was found in cardiac arrest and rushed to a nearby hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The incident occurred on a Jeju Air flight that departed from Clark in the Philippines and landed at Incheon at 6:21 a.m.

Police said they plan to question the mother, a woman in her 30s and a Philippine national, about the circumstances of the birth and the cause of the baby’s death.

“As the baby was born and died on a Korean-flagged aircraft, Korean authorities will handle the investigation,” a police official said. “We will thoroughly examine the circumstances of the birth and what led to the child’s death.”