More than $20,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe page to pay for the burial of a 10-year-old girl who died after her flight made an emergency landing at Shannon airport on Christmas Eve.
Madra Oo, who was Nigerian but living in Canada, was travelling from Toronto in Canada to London en route to Nigeria with her three older sisters to meet their extended family for Christmas.
The girls’ mother had travelled on an earlier flight.
As the plane approached the Irish coast, Madra suffered a cardiac arrest. The plane landed in Shannon and Madra was rushed to Limerick University Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
It was later discovered that sickle cell anemia was a major contributing factor in her death.
The young girl’s family, who are living in Canada, have remained in Ireland since Christmas Eve, with Madra, as they do not have the funds to return her body to Canada and carry out a proper funeral.
A FundMePage was set up by her family to try to raise enough money to hold a proper funeral for Madra back in Canada. In just three days, more than $20,000 has been raised.
A statement on the GoFundMe page said: “On Christmas Eve my 3 sisters and I left Toronto to spend Christmas with our extended family in Nigeria.
“Our mom flew ahead of us. Our beautiful youngest sister Madra (10) was with us. She took ill on the plane and despite the efforts of some kind medics on board they could not save her.
“We have been in Ireland since then, waiting to take our dear sister back to Canada. The Irish police and medical teams and Air Canada have been very helpful in this situation.
“Our family is a single parent family of 4 children so we do not have the funds to have a proper burial for our beloved Madra.
“Any help you can give will be deeply appreciated by our family during this time of devastation and grief.
“Madra was the light of our lives, she brought joy and happiness to our household and we will never be the same without her, however we will keep her memory alive. Thank you.”
The GoFundMe page can be seen here.
