Lion Air flight makes an emergency medical landing at BIA with two dead passengers

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A passenger onboard a Lion Air flight that made an emergency landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport this morning was admitted to the Infectious Disease Hospital in Colombo. 2 other passengers on board the plane had already passed away when the aircraft landed at the BIA. The passenger admitted to the Infectious Disease hospital was in critical condition. The Lion Air flight had made an emergency landing at 2:45 this morning as two passengers onboard the plan had fallen sick. However, when airport officials examined the two Indonesian national passengers who fell ill, they had already passed away. A 70-year-old passenger aboard the plane who was also suffering from an illness and the bodies of the two deceased passengers were sent to the Negombo Hospital. The passenger in critical condition was transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital in Colombo. According to officials at the Negombo hospital, body parts of the deceased passengers were handed over to the National Medical Research Institute in Colombo for investigations. The cause of death has not yet been identified. Hospital officials confirmed that another passenger who accompanied the 70-year old to the IDH in Colombo was also admitted for observation. The two deceased passengers, as well as the two passengers admitted to the IDH, were all Indonesian nationals. An emergency medical inspection report has been called in to identify the nature of the disease. According to police one of the deceased passengers was a 64-year-old male while the other was a 74-year-old woman. The flight JT 85 that made the emergency landing was an Airbus A-330-900 aircraft belonging to Lion Airlines. The flight had taken off from the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia at 5.30 pm local time and entered the Sri Lankan airspace 5 and a half hours later. The flight was travelling at an altitude of 39,000 feet above the seas off Trincomalee at a speed of 541 miles per hour when it turned back to make an emergency landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Following the handing over of bodies of the two deceased passengers and the other two passengers who were dropped off at the BIA the flight continued its journey to the Surabaya Airport in Indonesia after a six-hour delay. 285 passengers were on board the flight and Sri Lankan hospital officials said that all passengers onboard the plan must have been inspected. The Indonesian Embassy stated that they are attempting to contact the relatives of the deceased passengers. According to the Embassy future action on the deceased passengers can only be taken after contacting their relatives.