A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Romania after it was reported that four people had fallen ill with suspected smoke inhalation.
The flight departed Istanbul and was heading towards London, but requested to land at Bucharest's Henri Coanda International Airport at 5.50pm.
The Romanian airport said the aircraft carrying 142 passengers landed at 6.14pm, with medical crews quickly rushed on board.
In a statement shortly after the incident unfolded on Thursday, the Romania's Healthy Ministry confirmed the "presence of smoke" on the plane.
A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Romania after it was reported that four people had fallen ill
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The Health Ministry said: “Four people are in poor health, possibly being smoke-intoxicated, and are receiving medical assistance on site.
It added that the situation was "dynamic" and more details about the incident would be released in due course.
However, this claim has been refuted by British Airways, who said the emergency landing was made "as a precaution due to a suspected technical issue".
The airline added that "no hospitalisations" had taken place and passengers exited the aircraft "normally" after arriving into the Romanian capital.
The Romanian airport said the aircraft carrying 142 passengers landed at 6.14pm
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On the British Airways website, the flight was marked as diverted and listed as having landed into the Eastern European country at 6.21pm.
An alert message on the website read: "We're very sorry, this flight scheduled from Istanbul to London, has been diverted to Bucharest."
A spokesman for British Airways said: "The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority and our crew made the decision to divert as a precaution due to a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely, customers disembarked normally, and we received no reports of smoke on board or hospitalisations.
"We’re sorry to our customers for the disruption to their journeys and our teams are working to get them on their way again as quickly as possible."
British Airways said the emergency landing was made 'as a precaution due to a suspected technical issue'
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FLIGHT MAYHEM - READ THE LATEST:
Last year, a Swiss Air cabin crew member died after inhaling smoke while on board a flight travelling between Bucharest and Zurich.
On December 23, the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Austrian city of Graz after the aircraft experienced engine issues.
The cabin crew member quickly fell ill and was rushed to an intensive care unit.
The 23-year-old flight attendant died one week later after his brain had been severely damaged due to a lack of oxygen.
Inhaling even small amounts of smoke can cause damage to the lungs and airways.
However, it can turn deadly if a large amount of smoke is breathed, as often toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide and cyanide end up being circulated to the brain.
Common symptoms of smoke inhalation include shortness of breath, chest pain, sore throat and headache.
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