This article is from page 11 of the 2006-07-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
FIVE young children were expected to be released from hospital last night after they became ill on a repatriation flight from Lebanon to the US, which had made a technical stop at Shannon in the early hours of yesterday (Monday) morning.
The flight, which had earlier evacuated American-Lebanese families from the growing crisis in the Lebanon, landed at Shannon to refuel before continuing to the States. During that stopover, the crew sought medical attention for several passengers.
A number of the passengers were treated at the airport by doctors and ambulance crews and 11 people were taken by ambulances to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for further treatment. Five young children were detained for observation overnight.
A spokesman for the Health Service Executive confirmed that the five had been treated in the Sunshine Ward, the paediatric unit at the Limerick hospital. Other passengers on the flight were also examined by medics at the airport. They were accommodated in local hotels overnight. Their plane remained on the ground in Shannon last night for a second night as engineers carried out repairs to an engine.