A GERMAN politician has died in hospital in Limerick after the transatlantic flight on which she was travelling diverted to Shannon Airport.
Karin Strenz, who was a member of the German federal parliament, was 53.
A member of Angela Merkel's CDU party, she had been on a flight from Cuba to Frankfurt in Germany on Sunday when she fell ill and lost consciousness.
It is understood that she was travelling with her husband.
A medical emergency was reported and the pilot was authorised to make an unscheduled stop at about 7.30am in Shannon.
Ms Strenz was taken from the plane by paramedics to University Hospital Limerick, where she was later pronounced dead.
The Republic's foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney expressed his condolences and sympathy to Ms Strenz's family and colleagues.
