Yikes, yikes, baby! Vanilla Ice was among a group of passengers who were quarantined on a flight from Dubai to New York after nearly 100 people on board fell ill.
“So I just landed from Dubai and now there is like tons of ambulances and fire trucks and police all over the place,” the 50-year-old rapper tweeted from his seat on Wednesday, September 5. “This is crazy. Apparently there is over 100 people sick on the bottom floor, so happy I’m on top, it’s a double-decker plane 380.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told USA Today later on Wednesday that many passengers and crew members on the Emirates airline Airbus A380 flight “complained of illness, including cough and some with fever.”
A spokesperson for the airline also confirmed the ordeal to Us Weekly and said that all travelers were evacuated around noon, nearly an hour and 15 minutes after the flight touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly,” Emirates’ statement read. “The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.”
New York City Mayor Eric Phillips addressed the situation via Twitter and revealed that 19 passengers were ultimately deemed “sick.” Ten were transferred to the hospital, while the remaining nine chose not to seek medical care,
“Health officials are processing tests now to determine the cause,” Phillips wrote on Wednesday. “Symptoms still pointing to the flu.”
