Passengers on Canadian flight fall sick after de-icing fumes enters cabin, 10 hospitalised

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – A Florida-bound flight from Quebec City Thursday had to be evacuated minutes after takeoff and 10 passengers were taken to hospital after fumes from de-icing seeped into the cabin. Air Transat Flight 782 destined for Fort Lauderdale, Florida was at the de-icing station shortly before 11 am when passengers complained of feeling faint.

Airport firefighters were called and the flight was emptied, with passengers returning to the terminal.

Jean Lesage International Airport spokeswoman Laurianne Lapierre said 12 passengers were affected. Initial reports were that five people had been taken to hospital by ambulance suffering from symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness and sore eyes.

But a spokesman for the CHU de Quebec, which oversees five hospitals in the capital region, said later that 10 people from the flight were treated at several local hospitals. Bryan Gelinas, the spokesman, said there were “no serious cases,” but he declined to provide additional details on their condition.