Passengers arriving at LAX treated for illness
LOS ANGELES --Paramedics were responding to an unknown medical issue at Los Angeles International Airport Monday afternoon involving 12 passengers on an arriving Fiji Airways flight, according to LAX police.
The passengers reported nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. One person was transported for further treatment, according to Los Angeles City Fire officials.
The Fiji Airlines flight landed at 1:45 p.m. an LAX spokesperson said.
According to a statement from LAX, the plane came in from Nadi, in the Fiji islands with passengers saying they were experiencing stomach problems. Personnel from several agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Los Angeles Fire Department and U.S. Customs & Border Protection were dispatched to the scene.
Of the passengers who reported feeling sick only one chose to go to a local hospital. The others entered the airport and continued with their travels with no further medical attention.
LAX officials said, although the sick passengers were not all traveling together, they did stay in the same hotel in Nadi and experienced the same symptoms, CBS News reported.
Fiji Airways acknowledged the passengers illness was linked through the placed they had lodged.
"At this stage, we can confirm that these symptoms are isolated to this group of passengers who stayed at the same resort in Fiji," the airline said in a statement. "We have had no other reports of similar symptoms on any of our other services. As per our Health, Safety & Security standard operating procedures our catering supplier in Nadi, Fiji, has sent samples of our on-board food from the LA sector for testing."
Federal health authorities evaluated the passengers and determined they did not have anything contagious, the LAFD's Margaret Stewart told CBS Los Angeles.