SYDNEY (AP) — More than 20 passengers who became ill during a Qantas flight from Chile to Australia were treated by paramedics and placed in quarantine today on arrival at Sydney airport, the airline said.
The sick passengers were part of the same tour group and were suspected to have contracted their gastro intestinal illness before they boarded the 14-hour flight in Santiago, Qantas said.
The Boeing 747 was met by ambulance paramedics who treated the sick passengers in quarantine, Qantas spokesman Luke Enright said.
The New South Wales state Health Ministry said in a statement that the 26 passengers developed vomiting and diarrhea consistent with norovirus infection, a common cause of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Australia and elsewhere.
Paramedics were assessing the sick passengers, all Australian residents. Passengers well enough to leave were to be escorted through the airport with minimal exposure to other passengers, the ministry said.
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