Multiple passengers onboard Delta flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta PASS OUT and soil themselves while waiting to take off in 111F heat with no air conditioning, as Southwest bakes under ‘heat dome’
- Passengers on a flight leaving Las Vegas for Atlanta on Monday had to be helped off as temperatures at Harry Reid International Airport climbed to 115 degrees
- One news reporter on board said flight attendants were running down aisles with oxygen tanks, before emergency services wheeled the passengers off
- It comes as the southwest continues to get hit with intense temperatures, which have resulted in the death of one man
Passengers aboard a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta passed out and needed to be revived with oxygen on Monday, as Phoenix looks set to break another heat record for the 19th consecutive day.
The travelers were on board the Delta Air Lines flight at Harry Reid International Airport when they had to be taken off due to the intense heat.
Also on the flight was Fox News field producer Kirsta Garvin, who reported hearing the pilot announce they would be returning to the gate after multiple emergencies.
The situation is said to have worsened and flight attendants were seen running up and down the aisles with oxygen tanks as passengers passed out.
According to Garvin, at least five people had to be taken from the flight due to the heat on board the aircraft.
According to Garvin, at least five people had to be taken from the flight due to the heat on board the aircraft
Garvin said that the decision was then made to take everyone off due to the volume of sick people, and to try to cool the plane down.
Taking to Twitter, she said: ‘What an INSANE experience. First we were delayed because you did not have a flight attendant.
‘Then we finally board and sit for almost 3 hours on a hot plane in 111 degree weather.
‘Now we are heading back to the gate cause people are passing out. We are now being told you can get off but there isn’t another flight out to ATL for days.
‘This is actually nuts. Paramedics are on now. I’ve seen a total of three people wheeled out so far. Oxygen tanks are being pulled out.
‘They said to press your call button if you need medical assistance. Babies are screaming crying. They’re handing out sandwiches to the diabetics. I am just shook.’
She later updated her Twitter thread advising that the crew had also fallen ill from the temperatures.
The National Weather Service said that the temperature at the airport fluctuated between 111 and 115 degrees on Monday.
In a statement, Delta Airlines said that they had been investigating the situation.
A spokesperson said: ‘We apologize for the experience our customers had on flight 555 from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 17, which ultimately resulted in a flight cancellation.
‘Delta teams are looking into the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin and we appreciate the efforts of our people and first responders at Harry Reid International.’
Emergency crews had to board the aircraft and remove those on board, before the whole aircraft was asked to disembark
It comes as the city of Phoenix is set to smash a record today for the 19th straight day the temperature has soared to 110 degrees.
The nights have offered little relief from the brutal heat. Phoenix’s overnight low only dropped to 94 F (34.4 C) on Tuesday, the ninth straight day of temperatures not falling below 90 F (32.2 C), another record.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Salerno said: ‘It’s pretty miserable when you don’t have any recovery overnight’.
The thermometer reached 100 F (37.8 C) before 9 a.m. for the sixth straight day on Tuesday.
NOAA Climate Analysis Chief Russell Vose said: ‘It’s the longest streak that we´ve ever seen in this country.
‘When you have several million people subjected to that sort of thermal abuse, there are impacts.’
The last time Phoenix didn´t reach 110 F was June 29, when it hit 108. On Monday, the city set a new record with the temperature not dropping below 95 (35 C).
On Monday, it was announced that the country had recorded its first death as a result of the ongoing ‘heat dome’ engulfing southwestern US.
The death of Victor Ramos on June 24 was the first to occur in Texas’ Harris County, where Houston is located, this year, according to an account monitoring weather related deaths this year.
One of the hottest places on earth, Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, reached 128 degrees on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 F in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.
Temperatures at or above 130 F have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.
By: JOE HUTCHISON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
