Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher suffers heart attack aboard transatlantic flight

Hollywood actress Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars space saga has suffered a major heart attack on board a flight from London to Los Angeles.

The 60-year-old actress was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after she landed in LAX. According to her brother Todd Fisher, she is receiving medical treatment in the intensive care unit.

“It's not fair to say 'stable.' I am not saying she is fine, or not fine,” Todd Fisher told Reuters by phone. “She is in the ICU.”

A source told the Los Angeles Times that Fisher was in “a lot of distress” during the flight. According to reports an emergency medical technician who was aboard helped Fisher after she suffered a “massive heart attack” some 15 minutes before landing shortly after 12:00pm (2000 GMT).

Fisher rose to fame in 1977 for her role as Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars’. Her co-star Peter Mayhew tweeted “thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.” in response to the news.

Meanwhile ‘Star Trek’ star William Shatner asked people to send “special thought” to Fisher, who had been in London promoting her book ‘Princess Diarist’.

Fisher was recently back on screen in a younger form using CGI in the latest ‘Star Wars’ film ‘Rogue One’, which recreated her character for a pivotal scene.