60 children fall ill on Emirates flight to Heathrow

Sixty members of a Welsh children's choir were treated by paramedics at London Heathrow on Monday after falling ill on an Emirates flight from Dubai, it was reported on Monday.

The children, aged between 10 and 14, were returning from a performance in Cape Town, South Africa when they began vomiting on the A380 superjumbo, the UK's Daily Mail reported.

Eleven of the children were reportedly taken to hospital and were later discharged.

The children from the Wales Millennium Centre / Only Kids Aloud Chorus travelled to South Africa for two special concerts with renowned opera singer Bryn Terfel, the newspaper said.

It added that the children were hit with suspected food poisoning and quoted a spokesman for London Ambulance Service as saying: "The children were complaining of diarrhoea and vomiting."

Bet Davies, spokesperson for the choir, told the Daily Mail: "Some of the children felt ill on the flight so we took them to hospital as a precaution. The parents have been kept fully informed and everyone has been discharged... The ambulance came to check the children over as a precaution to make sure they weren't bringing an infection into the country."

A spokesperson for Emirates Airlines told Arabian Business: "A small group of passengers who transited via Dubai and flew on Emirates to London Heathrow on May 5 informed our crew that they were unwell during the flight.

"They were given medical attention on arrival. The affected passengers were part of the same travel group who began their journey in Cape Town. We are providing the affected passengers with all possible support, and are working closely with the local authorities to investigate the issue

Source: KUNA