A Spirit Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando was diverted to an airport in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery from a passenger's item caught fire in an overhead bin, airline officials said.
Flight 259 landed safely Wednesday afternoon and taxied to the terminal, the Florida-based airline said in a statement. Several people from the flight were taken to the hospital after feeling ill.
“There was a retired fireman that jumped up and the flight crew came in and they tried putting water on it and another guy went and got a bucket because I think the fireman reached in and grabbed it and they got it put out, but it took about 20 minutes.” passenger Kerri Arakawa told FirstCoast News.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue officials said one person was taken to the hospital initially, but more people started feeling ill as time passed.
Fire Captain Eric Proswimmer told the TV station they ended up taking 10 patients to the hospital.
Updates on their conditions were not available.
“We thank our crew and guests for their quick actions to ensure the safety of everyone onboard, and we thank first responders for meeting the aircraft,” the airline said.
The airline provided refunds and vouchers to passengers, and arranged for ground transportation to Orlando.
Alzheimer’s mainly affects the elderly, who are eligible for Medicare, but people under 65 — even, rarely, as young as their 30s — also can get diagnosed. They are more likely to have commercial coverage.
The vote by the state's Public Utilities Commission came despite reservations from city officials and residents spurred by erratic behavior that resulted in unmanned vehicles blocking traffic, including the path of emergency vehicles.
The teenager was airlifted to a hospital Tuesday for injuries including nine broken vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung and a concussion. He was discharged Saturday.
Authorities are also warning that the effort to find and identify the dead is just beginning. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday that crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area.
Some doctors say the drug should be held for three weeks before sedation to accommodate the delayed emptying of the stomach, which can cause patients to inhale food and liquid into their lungs.
