Medics in UK treat children on Emirates flight

Dubai: Emirates has confirmed that a group of schoolchildren on a UK-bound Emirates flight on May 5 and who transited via Dubai received medical attention on arrival after feeling unwell during the flight.

According to a report in a British newspaper, 60 children, who were members of a Welsh children’s choir, were treated by paramedics at Heathrow Airport.

The children aged between 10 and 14 were complaining of diarrhoea and vomiting, reports said.

Some of the children were taken to hospital for further treatment and were all discharged, the newspaper reported. A team of health professionals are looking into the cause of the illness, it added.

The precise cause of the illness has not yet been determined.

Officials at Heathrow Airport did not reply immediately to a media request by Gulf News on Monday. The children were flying from Cape Town, South Africa.

“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,” an Emirates airline spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added the children were given medical attention on arrival.

“We are providing the affected passengers with all possible support, and are working closely with the local authorities to investigate the issue,” the spokesperson added.

According to the media report, it took the London Ambulance Service around two hours to treat the children at the airport.

The children were coming back from two concerts with renowned opera singer Bryn Terfel, the British daily reported. The children were reported to have performed in front of some 2,600 people in performances at the Cape Town Opera over the weekend.

The performances, were part of the 20th year celebrations for the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, the paper reported.