British Airways plane makes emergency landing in Canada

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont.

At least 25 people were taken to hospitals after a British Airways plane carrying 400 passengers made an emergency landing at the Vancouver International Airport, Canadian media reported Tuesday.

The sick, all crew members, were transported to three hospitals, Vancouver Coastal Health spokesman Gavin Wilson told CTV television news.

The Airbus A380 airplane, traveling from San Francisco to London, was diverted to Vancouver and was surrounded by emergency vehicles when it landed just before midnight Monday, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada’s national newscaster.

The CBC said initial reports said the sick members of the crew were apparently suffering from smoke inhalation, but that has not been confirmed by officials.

“The flight from San Francisco diverted to Vancouver after members of the cabin crew became unwell,” British Airways spokeswoman Michelle Kropf said in New York, as reported by the CBC. “We are investigating the cause of the problem.”

Overnight accommodations were arranged for those not taken to hospital.

A passenger told the CBC that the crew began quickly clearing away dinner about two hours into the flight.

“They suddenly cleared the trays away, and said that we were going to do a landing in Calgary [Alberta] due to the fact there was a technical issue with the plane and a number of the cabin crew weren’t feeling well,” passenger Steve Lowry said.

But because the plane is so large – the A380 is the world’s biggest commercial passenger jet – the pilot then announced that the landing would be in Vancouver, Lowy said.

As British Airways tried to determine the cause of the problem, passengers were booked on other flights, CTV news reported.