FOUR passengers were rushed to hospital on Sunday after a Delta Air Lines flight taking off from Barcelona was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal.
Flight DL251 was diverted to Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport in Porto yesterday afternoon following a reported mechanical issue, the company said.
Data from flight tracking service Flightradar24 suggested the plane left Barcelona El-Prat Airport at 3.15pm before tracking west towards the Atlantic Ocean.
The aircraft then made a sudden U-turn back towards the Iberian Peninsula before descending to land in Porto at roughly 5.45pm.
According to a spokesperson for Portugal’s emergency and civil protection authority, the plane was forced to make an emergency landing after the cabin filled with smoke.
12 people on board the Airbus A330 aircraft were given oxygen mid-air, according to reports.
In total, 14 passengers were treated for smoke inhalation on the tarmac after the plane was greeted by firefighters, police and ambulance crews.
Four passengers were taken to hospital, including two men admitted to Sao Joao Hospital in a stable condition with ‘mild’ respiratory symptoms.
The incident comes just two days after a separate Delta flight departing Barcelona was forced to make a swift landing after flames were spotted shooting out of its left engine.
The Atlanta-bound aircraft suffered a compressor stall on takeoff and climbed to 5,000ft before safely returning to Barcelona.
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