Flight detained at Newark Airport to aid sick passenger
United Airlines flight traveled from Brussels to Newark, NJ
A passenger on a United Airlines flight exhibiting flu-like symptoms and believed to be from Liberia was removed Saturday from the aircraft at New Jersey's Newark International Airport by medical personnel in hazmat suits, before officials later ruled out Ebola as a cause for his illness.
Passengers and crew on board Flight 998 were instructed to remain inside the plane while the sick passenger, a 35-year-old man, and a young girl were removed, Port Authority officials told Fox News.
Passengers were questioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while than man and the girl were taken to a local hospital. United Airlines said it was working with authorities to accommodate its passengers.
"The crew reported that a person was vomiting, and that Liberians were aboard the plane," a law enforcement source told The New York Post. "The person throwing up is believed to be Liberian."
Details about the passengers were not immediately clear, but the issue raised fears since the symptoms described were commonly associated with Ebola.
Health officials said the man's symptoms were later shown to be consistent with a minor, treatable illness.
Authorities said the plane's crew and its roughly 250 remaining passengers stayed onboard for about 90 minutes before being allowed to leave allowed to leave.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Bryan Llenas contributed to this report.
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