At least 19 on Dubai-New York Emirates flight confirmed ill
  • 6 years ago
At least 19 people aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai to New York have fallen ill for reasons yet unknown.
Ro Aram has the details.
Emirates Flight 203 was quarantined at JFK airport as it landed on Wednesday morning, local time, with health officials checking those on board.
The screening process took about two hours and came after about 100 passengers on board reported feeling sick.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said symptoms included coughing and high fever.
Nineteen people were confirmed to be ill.
Ten of them have been taken to hospital, while the other nine refused to receive treatment.
The aircraft was carrying more than 500 passengers and they were all allowed to leave by Wednesday afternoon, except for those in hospital.
This passenger said the symptoms were evident before the plane took off from Dubai.

"Yeah, a very, very deep, intense cough, violently sick, going into the bathroom a lot. It's just so obvious, it was really bad. We were lining up to get on the plane and people were so intensely sick and nobody was checking or asking any questions of even coming around with extra water or hand towels or masks. Nothing was done."

It is still unclear what caused the illness, but a spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speculated it could be due to a flu outbreak in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, where some passengers had originally come from.
Emirates has said the return flight to Dubai will be delayed about three hours.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.
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