In-flight delivery: Malaysian gives birth on plane

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – An official says a Malaysian woman has given premature birth to a boy on a domestic flight, minutes before it landed in Kuala Lumpur.

Liew Siaw Hsia gave birth on budget carrier AirAsia's flight from Penang to Kuching on Wednesday.

AirAsia spokesman Nazatul Mokhtar said Friday that the flight was diverted to nearby Kuala Lumpur for an emergency landing when Liew started labor pains.

A doctor on the flight helped the 31-year-old deliver while the plane was still 2,000 feet (600 meters) in the air in its final approach to land.

Nazatul says both the mother and baby are healthy and will get lifetime of free flights. He says Liew was 27 weeks pregnant, 11 weeks short of the full term.