A six-month-old baby boy, born to an Indian couple working in Melbourne, Australia, was found dead on landing at the airport in Chennai in the early hours of Thursday, police said.
According to airport police, the Chennai-based couple, Sakthi Murugan (32) and Geetha (29) was travelling from Melbourne to spend their vacation along with baby Hrithik, via Malaysia in an Air Asia flight when the tragedy occurred.
On landing at the airport shortly after midnight, they completed the immigration formalities while Geetha was holding the infant. They were about to collect their luggage to leave for their residence at Vengaivasal in Selaiyur near suburban Tambaram, when they noticed that the toddler was unconscious. The child showed no signs of movement.
“Thinking that the infant was still asleep, the parents tried to wake him up. But, he could not be revived. The apprehensive parents immediately rushed Hrithik to the clinic within the international terminal, where doctors declared that the infant had died,” police added.
The grief stricken parents said that the boy was hale and hearty and had played during the 13-hour-long flight.
{{/usCountry}}The grief stricken parents said that the boy was hale and hearty and had played during the 13-hour-long flight.
{{/usCountry}}The airport police secured the body, registered a case, and sent it to the Government Hospital at Chrompet. The parents were also questioned by the police team.
According to initial reports, the toddler could have died either due to travel weariness and breathing difficulty or allergy caught during the long journey. However, the police said they were waiting for the autopsy report to ascertain the actual reason.