Eleven people were treated at a local hospital after a plane carrying sick passengers landed at John F. Kennedy Airport Wednesday.
Around 100 people on Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai complained of illness, with symptoms including cough and fever, before being officially evaluated, Benjamin Haynes, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Infectious Disease Media Team, told TIME. Emirates, however, said that only about 10 of the roughly 500 passengers on the flight “were taken ill.”
Eric Phillips, press secretary for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, tweeted about three hours after the plane landed that all passengers had disembarked. (Though Phillips initially said the plane was quarantined, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey did not escalate the incident to that level of formal response.) Ten sick people were initially taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, while another nine were found to be ill but declined further medical treatment. One person on the plane sought treatment for unrelated symptoms later in the day, Jamaica Hospital representatives said in a statement Thursday.
A Jamaica Hospital spokesperson said in a statement provided to TIME that patients brought to the hospital had symptoms including cough, fever, sore throat and headache. Test results came back positive for influenza, Phillips tweeted Thursday morning.
Ten of the 11 patients were discharged by Thursday afternoon, according to Jamaica Hospital representatives, while the final patient remained at the hospital for flu treatment.
Vanilla Ice was apparently among the more than 500 passengers on the A380 aircraft. The rapper tweeted a video of the scene on the tarmac, and called the situation “crazy” in a separate tweet.
“So I just landed from Dubai and now there is like tons of ambulances and fire trucks and police all over the place,” he wrote. “Apparently there is over 100 people sick on the bottom floor, so happy I’m up top, it’s a double-decker plane 380,” he added in another tweet.
A government source briefed on situation said there was no evidence of a security or terror issue. Emirates’ home office told U.S. officials it believes this incident was caused by food poisoning, but passengers also suggested a nasty flu virus could also be to blame.
“Even well before the flight when we were on line getting on board (in Dubai), there were people that were obviously very sick that should not have been allowed to get on board in the first place,” said passenger Erin Sykes.
Some point to a particularly aggressive strain of the virus ravaging Mecca, where some of the passengers had recently spent time. The flight did not go to a terminal but was directed to a hardstand area as emergency medical response teams investigated the cause of the illness, a standard procedure practiced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for such emergencies.
“Passengers who are not ill will be allowed to continue with their travel plans, and if necessary will be followed up with by health officials,” said the CDC in a statement.
Mahesh Varavooru says his wife was not one of numerous passengers who fell ill, but she did see several people vomiting during the flight.
“She was scared, obviously, because it didn’t taxi yet and she was hoping the fight was going taxi and she couldn’t get out and was the middle of runway and cops all around,” Varavooru said about his wife’s experience on the plane.
Emirates in media statement confirmed that all passengers have disembarked from flight #EK203. All passengers were screened by local health authorities prior to disembarkation.
Three passengers and seven crew were transferred to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation.
“Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety and care of our customers is our first priority.
Time
