[ad_1]
A German politician fell ill with a “heart attack” halfway through a flight.
The 53-year-old MP, referred to as Karin Strenz by the German news agency Bild, was on a plane from Varadero, Cuba, on the way to Frankfurt, when she fell ill early Sunday morning.
The Condor flight DE-199 had to be diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland as the crew declared a medical emergency west of Ireland, reports the Journal.
Ms. Strenz, who represented the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Bundestag for Angela Merkel’s CDU, is said to have been on the road with her husband.
The ambulance service was on standby when the Boeing 767-300 landed around 7.30 a.m., as well as airport staff and the police.
(Image: Jens Büttner / Avalon)
The MP was treated at the airport before she was taken to Limerick University Hospital, where she was unfortunately pronounced dead.
After the dramatic diversion, the flight returned to Frankfurt.
It is not known whether Ms. Strenz traveled for personal or business reasons, or what could possibly have led to her death, but an autopsy is now expected.
Ms. Strenz was one of three center-right politicians from Merkel’s party accused of taking money from oil-rich Azerbaijan in exchange for lobbying for the authoritarian regime, reports the Irish Times.
She was fined 20,000 euros (£ 17,000) earlier this year for accepting undeclared donations and was the subject of an investigation in January.
If she were guilty, she would have been in prison for a maximum of five years.
[ad_2]
