Airbubba
21st Feb 2005, 02:56
Business Times - 21 Feb 2005
Mystery illness hits Australian airport: hundreds evacuated
MELBOURNE, Australia - Hundreds of people were evacuated from an airport in Melbourne in Australia on Monday after a mystery illness struck passengers and staff, sending nearly 30 people to hospital, officials said.
Paramedics, firefighters and hazardous materials crews in full protective clothing rushed to the airport after staff in a domestic terminal began suffering nausea and vomiting, dizziness, headaches and respiratory problems, emergency workers said.
Hundreds of staff and passengers were evacuated from the terminal while the emergency crews unsuccessfully sought the source of toxic fumes believed responsible for the symptoms, ambulance services spokesman James Howe said.
Within five hours of the first reports of a person feeling unwell, 29 people had been rushed from the terminal to hospital and another eight were being treated at the airport, he said.
Paramedics set up a field hospital outside the airport and some two dozen ambulances were on scene to ferry the sick to hospital.
Most of those affected were security and airline staff working in the departure area for Virgin Blue, a domestic carrier, officials said.
The evacuations caused chaos around the airport, with dozens of flights having to be delayed or cancelled and incoming passengers being off-loaded on the tarmac.
'People are out on the car park and in the waiting area outside the terminal, it's quite an amazing scene here,' Mr Howe said on Sky News television.
He said emergency crews had been unable to find what was making people sick.
'We're taking it very seriously, because of the unknown element of it,' he said.
Those taken ill were not in a life-threatening situation but were being taken to hospital for tests and observation 'because of the unknown substance and we don't know what the long-term effects could be,' he said.
A spokesman for Airservices Australia, which provides firefighting services at the airport, said emergency crews had found no evidence of a chemical leak.
'It's not clear yet what is causing the problem -- it is not believed to be hazardous material at this stage, but it can't be ruled out,' he said.
http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,146060,00.html?uid=&pwd=&ssID=6c647388e5e8f4aa&remme_callback=1&url=business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,146060,00.html
Mystery illness hits Australian airport: hundreds evacuated
MELBOURNE, Australia - Hundreds of people were evacuated from an airport in Melbourne in Australia on Monday after a mystery illness struck passengers and staff, sending nearly 30 people to hospital, officials said.
Paramedics, firefighters and hazardous materials crews in full protective clothing rushed to the airport after staff in a domestic terminal began suffering nausea and vomiting, dizziness, headaches and respiratory problems, emergency workers said.
Hundreds of staff and passengers were evacuated from the terminal while the emergency crews unsuccessfully sought the source of toxic fumes believed responsible for the symptoms, ambulance services spokesman James Howe said.
Within five hours of the first reports of a person feeling unwell, 29 people had been rushed from the terminal to hospital and another eight were being treated at the airport, he said.
Paramedics set up a field hospital outside the airport and some two dozen ambulances were on scene to ferry the sick to hospital.
Most of those affected were security and airline staff working in the departure area for Virgin Blue, a domestic carrier, officials said.
The evacuations caused chaos around the airport, with dozens of flights having to be delayed or cancelled and incoming passengers being off-loaded on the tarmac.
'People are out on the car park and in the waiting area outside the terminal, it's quite an amazing scene here,' Mr Howe said on Sky News television.
He said emergency crews had been unable to find what was making people sick.
'We're taking it very seriously, because of the unknown element of it,' he said.
Those taken ill were not in a life-threatening situation but were being taken to hospital for tests and observation 'because of the unknown substance and we don't know what the long-term effects could be,' he said.
A spokesman for Airservices Australia, which provides firefighting services at the airport, said emergency crews had found no evidence of a chemical leak.
'It's not clear yet what is causing the problem -- it is not believed to be hazardous material at this stage, but it can't be ruled out,' he said.
http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,146060,00.html?uid=&pwd=&ssID=6c647388e5e8f4aa&remme_callback=1&url=business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,146060,00.html