Saudi airline forced to land in Canada after 2-year-old gets sick

A Saudia Airline flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada this week after a child suffered a medical emergency while on board, Arabian Business reported. 

The plane landed in the country's St. John's International Airport in Newfoundland before noon. The two-year-old passenger was then rushed to a local hospital upon landing but was unfortunately pronounced dead shortly after. 

The deceased toddler and his family were on board Saudia's Flight 35, which was on its way to Washington D.C., U.S. from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

The office of Newfoundland's chief medical examiner is expected to determine the cause of death soon, according to StAlbert Today. However, the child's passing is not being treated as "suspicious," an officer of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary told press. 

No further details about the child's family were released as of yet. 

The flight resumed its scheduled route to the U.S. after the incident.

Babies and toddlers are a vulnerable group when it comes to long flights, as they could face "infections, fevers, neurologic conditions like seizures, and respiratory problems like asthma."

In April, a two-month-old Saudi baby >tragically died mid-flight aboard an AirAsia aircraft en route from Malaysia to Australia. The cause of death was unconfirmed at the time. 

Adults and elderly people are also prone to health-related problems during flights. And this year, Arab airlines witnessed such unfortunate cases.

In August, a Lebanese pilgrim on board a Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight back from Hajj in Mecca >passed away mid-air after having suffered a sudden medical emergency. Weeks before that, an American woman >died on a flight en-route to Dubai. Identified as Brandi Hodges, the woman died after a 13-hour Emirates flight upon arrival to Dubai from New York.

In yet another tragic incident to be reported on a plane earlier this year, an Emirates flight en route to Indonesia made an >emergency landing in India after a passenger on board suffered a fatal heart attack.