‘Dizzy and nauseous' plane passengers and crew members sickened by mysterious mid-flight ailment
They had a bad case of tummy turbulence.
At least seven people, including both crew and passengers, felt dizzy and nauseous aboard an Air India flight in a case that's baffling air experts.
The carrier released a statement addressing the stomach-churning incident, which occurred Monday aboard Flight AI-130 from London, UK to Mumbai, India, the Times Of India reported.
'Five passengers and two crew reported feeling dizzy and nauseous during different phases of the flight,' an Air India representative said.
'If there had been a drop in cabin pressure, the oxygen masks would have automatically deployed,' one source explained, dismissing the idea that the illness was caused by depressurization.
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Despite the health scare, the Boeing 777 managed to 'land safely' at the destination, where medical teams were waiting to provide immediate assistance, per the statement, India Today reported.
After landing, two passengers and two crew continued to feel ill, prompting responders to transport them to a medical room for further examination before they were eventually discharged.
The Air India spokesperson reported that they were 'investigating the incident' and had notified the proper officials.
It's yet unclear what caused the inflight illness, but according to one media report, cabin depressurization may have been to blame as the decreasing oxygen levels can induce dizziness, India Today reported.
However, other sources claimed that there was no drop in cabin pressure.
'If there had been a drop in cabin pressure, the oxygen masks would have automatically deployed,' one source explained, per the Economic Times Of India.
'So, [a] drop in cabin pressurization is not likely to be the cause.'
Food poisoning appeared to be the more likely culprit, per sources, who pointed out that dizziness and nausea are classic symptoms of the ailment.
This incident comes less than two weeks after the devastating Air India crash, in which a Boeing Dreamliner bound for London crashed soon after taking off in India, killing all but one of the 242 passengers on board.
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