A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Romania after four passengers suffered from ‘smoke inhalation’ and required medical assistance.
Flight BA603, carrying 142 passengers, was en route from Istanbul to London Heathrow on Thursday when it was diverted to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, landing at 5.50pm local time.
Medical crews boarded the aircraft immediately upon landing to treat the four affected, who were understood to be part of the flight crew.
The remaining passengers were evacuated while emergency teams responded.
British Airways stated that the diversion on was due to a “suspected technical issue” and reported no cases of hospitalisation or any presence of smoke on board.
However, Romania’s Ministry of Health later released a statement confirming that the “presence of smoke was confirmed” after the plane landed.
It said the crew reported “smoke emissions on board”, forcing the plane to land.
"Four people are in poor health, possibly being smoke-intoxicated, and are receiving medical assistance on site,” the statement added.
A BA spokesperson said: "Our crew made the decision to divert as a precaution due to a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and customers disembarked as normal.
"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."
An investigation into the incident has been launched by airport authorities.
