KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 ― AirAsia flight AK416 from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung was diverted to Johor yesterday when an employee died in mid-flight.

The budget airline said in a statement that the staff was given immediate medical attention upon touchdown, but was later pronounced dead by a doctor on the ground.

“We will provide all necessary support to the family during this bereavement period,” AirAsia said.

New Straits Times reported Kulai police chief Superintendent Dzulkhairi Mukhtar saying AirAsia has lodged a report over the incident and police have classified the case as “sudden death”.

He added that the deceased was a 46-year-old Indonesian man and details on the man’s designation was unavailable at press time.

The flight later took off from Senai and arrived at the Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung at 10.11am.

* Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the deceased as a flight attendant. The error has since been rectified.