World's oldest person dies

2009-09-11 21:31

Los Angeles - The world's oldest known person has died in Los Angeles at age 115.

Dr Charles Witt says Gertrude Baines died on Friday at a hospital. The doctor says she likely suffered a heart attack but an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

Baines was born in 1894 in Shellman, Georgia. She became the world's oldest living person when a 115-year-old woman, Maria de Jesus, died in Portugal in January.

Baines received a letter from the president when she celebrated her 115th birthday on April 6.

The oldest person in the world is now 114-year-old Kama Chinen, who lives in Japan. That's according to Dr L Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Centre. The group tracks claims of extreme old age.

- AP