9-month-old Afghan girl dies after evacuation flight to US
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on September 2, 2021
(PHILADELPHIA) — A 9-month-old Afghan girl flying on a U.S. evacuation flight to Philadelphia died Wednesday night, a Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The baby girl arrived with her family from Ramstein Air Base in Germany after they were evacuated from Afghanistan, according to Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell.
She is the first known case of an evacuee dying after the chaotic evacuation efforts from Kabul that brought 124,000 people to safety.
The baby suffered a medical emergency during the flight, according to Customs and Border Protection, and by the time the plane landed at 9:16 p.m., she was unresponsive, per PPD.
The aircrew flying the C-17 military transport plane requested medical assistance and priority arrival, according to Mitchell, and emergency medical personnel and a translator met the aircraft on arrival and transported her and her father to a local hospital.
The infant was pronounced dead at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia at 10:10 p.m., according to PPD.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the parents and family,” said Mitchell.
Her death is under investigation by Philadelphia police’s special victims unit because of the child’s age, while the Philadelphia medical examiner’s office will investigate the cause of death, the PPD spokesperson said.
ABC News’s Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
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