A commercial passenger flight bound for North Carolina was diverted to an island southeast of the Bahamas Wednesday after a woman on board suffered a medical emergency and died, police said.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force reported the commercial flight was heading to Charlotte when a 41-year-old woman fell ill.
American Airlines flight 2790 departed from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic before it was diverted to Providenciales International Airport “for the medical needs of a passenger,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY.
Just before 6:15 p.m., police said, officers received a call from Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for the woman who, at the time, was receiving CPR.
Autopsy to determine woman’s cause of death
A medical team, along with police units, were dispatched, and the woman was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
An autopsy was slated to be performed to determine the woman’s cause of death, authorities said.
The flight continued to Charlotte the following day, the airline spokesperson said.