A 10-year-old girl has died after falling ill on a Christmas Eve trans-Atlantic flight to London.

The girl was travelling from Toronto to Heathrow Airport when she suffered a medical complaint, which resulted in the flight being diverted to Shannon, Ireland on Saturday.

A doctor and a nurse were reportedly on board the Air Canada flight at the time of the incident, and helped the crew assist the child.

The girl was travelling on the Boeing 787 plane with three adult siblings, and the pilot said the child had a cardiac arrest, the Irish Mirror reported.

An ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit were sent ahead of the flight, arriving at around 7.40pm, the paper added.

The girl was taken to University Hospital Limerick, where she was pronounced dead a short while later.

The flight, which has been carrying 230 passengers, later continued on to London.