As many as 100 passengers and crew reported feeling ill on
Wednesday during an Emirates flight from Dubai to New York, and health workers
were evaluating them as the airplane sat on the tarmac of JFK International
Airport, authorities said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in
a statement that about 100 people complained of feeling sick on Emirates Flight
521, which landed with least 521 passengers shortly after 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT)
at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their symptoms included cough and
fever.
Earlier, Dubai-based Emirates said in a statement that 10
passengers "were taken ill" on the flight from the Middle Eastern
country and were transported to a hospital. It did not specify the symptoms or
nature of the complaints.
The airplane involved was a double-deck Airbus A388 - the
world's largest passenger aircraft, according to FlightAware.com.
CDC public health officers were working with other agencies
to evaluate passengers, including taking temperatures and making arrangements
for transport to hospitals, spokesman Benjamin Haynes said in the statement.
Passengers who were not ill were allowed to continue with
their travel plans, he said.
Some sick passengers were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
with non-life-threatening conditions, according to a New York City Fire
Department spokesman.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been briefed on the
incident, spokesman Eric Phillips wrote on Twitter.
Larry Cohen, who identified himself as one of the passengers
aboard the plane, uploaded photos on Twitter showing dozens of police and
emergency vehicles waiting outside the plane on the tarmac.
"All we have been told is that there are some sick
passengers and that we need to remain on board," Cohen told Reuters via
Twitter messaging.
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