Eleven aboard the Dubai flight hospitalized in New York after falling ill

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Eleven people on an Emirates flight from Dubai were taken to hospital in New York on Wednesday after many passengers and crew felt sick during the 14-hour trip. Middle East.

The type of illness was not confirmed immediately, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement that the symptoms included fever, cough and fever.

The passenger plane, with at least 521 passengers, landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport around 9:00 am EDT (1 pm GMT) and was surrounded by dozens of ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

The airline and the New York mayor's office said 19 people were sick. Three passengers and seven crew members visited hospitals, and nine other medically assessed passengers were released later, Dubai-based Emirates said.

CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes later said 11 people had been taken to hospitals, though he was not sure he was admitted, and the nine other people who were confirmed to be sick had refused to to be treated.

The rest of the passengers were allowed to leave and clear customs, the airline said.

The CDC said in its statement that up to 100 passengers and crew members reported feeling sick during the flight from Dubai.

Haynes said that it was possible that many or most of the people who complained of illness were really sick, but the number of confirmed cases was limited to 19 or 20 who were screened at the airport because their symptoms were the worst.

The plane, a two-story Airbus 380, was taken to a location far from the terminal so that the emergency authorities could assess the situation, officials at the New York Port Authority said. and New Jersey in a statement. The A380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world.

Diala Makki was traveling first class on flight 203 en route to New York Fashion Week when she learned from the flight crew that a number of people on board had become ill and that the passengers were detained until the officials make checks.

"Emirates' cabin crew was super helpful, they were not in panic mode, which was amazing," said Makki, a 36-year-old television host from Dubai, outside of airport.

Rap actress Vanilla Ice, a passenger aboard a jet, tweeted, "It's crazy. Apparently, there are more than 100 sick people on the ground floor, so happy that I'm upstairs. it's a two-story plane 380. "