A visitor from China who died Saturday after arriving on a flight to Honolulu International Airport had not been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, a spokesman for the agency said yesterday.

"The passenger had been processed and admitted to the U.S. He was not detained. After being admitted, he became ill. An EMT was called, responded, and he was taken to the hospital," said Jim Kosciuk, spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Honolulu. "Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time."

Kosciuk would not answer questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The man was identified as Nanxi Ye, 72, of Wanzhou. Ye died of spontaneous intra-cerebral hemorrhage, according to the city medical examiner's office.

An official who asked to not be identified told The Advertiser Wednesday that Ye was detained by Customs officers shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday because of a problem with his passport. At about noon, Ye complained of shortness of breath and collapsed. Emergency medical workers at the airport were summoned.

The incident happened nearly eight months after a 14-day-old boy from American Samoa who was flown here for medical treatment died after he and his mother were detained at the airport.

The parents of infant Michael Tony Futi, who died Feb. 8, have sued the federal government, saying officials at the airport did not respond to their pleas for help after the baby showed signs of medical distress.