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8-year-old girl dies after suffering medical emergency on flight to Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) — An 8-year-old girl died Thursday morning after suffering a medical emergency on a Skywest regional flight from Joplin, Missouri, to Chicago, according to authorities.

The Peoria County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to 6100 W. Everett McKinley Dirksen Parkway for a flight landing at the Peoria International Airport, where the flight from Missouri to Chicago was diverted due to a medical emergency.

After the plane landed, deputies, American Medical Technologists personnel, and Air National Guard Fire personnel immediately received and began performing life-saving measures on the girl. 

She was then taken to a local hospital by medical technologists, where she was pronounced dead.

According to FlightView, Flight 1521 continued to Chicago's O'Hare Airport from Peoria and arrived just before 1:30 p.m. 

In a statement, SkyWest expressed appreciation for the efforts of its crewmembers and responding medical personnel. 

Skywest is a regional airline affiliated with United Airlines. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the timeline of events.

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