A nine-year-old Italian girl has died during a flight to Germany after suffering a 'medical emergency', international media report.

The child was a passenger on Lufthansa's Airbus A340-600 jet flying from Shanghai in China to Munich in Germany when she stopped breathing.

Flight LH727 diverted to Yemelyanovo International Airport in Krasnoyark, Russia in a desperate bid to get medical help for the youngster.

But despite attempts to keep her alive, the Italian national was pronounced dead by doctors at the airport, according to the news agency Tass.

A spokesperson for the West Siberian department of Russia's Investigative Committee said: 'She was indeed an Italian citizen, an ethnic Chinese.

'The child was not breathing and had no pulse. The doctors tried to bring her back to life but to no avail.'

The plane touched down at Yemelyanovo International Airport 1.22am Moscow Time where flight crew were immediately met by medics.

The identity of the child, and her condition on boarding the aircraft, are not yet known.