Swiss Air jet is cordoned off at Barcelona airport after ‘radioactive spill’ from suitcase with five workers taken to hospital

A Swiss Air plane has been stopped at Barcelona airport after an alleged radioactive leak from a suitcase in the hold of the plane.

Air emergency teams and radiological specialists were called to Terminal 1 at El Prat airport, parts of which have since been closed due to the reported spill, according to local media reports.

The 134 passengers and five crew members on the Swiss Air flight from Zurich to Barcelona were reportedly forced to remain on the plane before being isolated in a room at the airport.

Meanwhile, five employees who were working at the warehouse when the alleged leak was discovered have been taken to hospital as a precaution.

Catalonia government spokesperson Patricia Plaja said her agency had no evidence of “severely affected people,” according to a local newspaper. 20 minutes.

Firefighters are working with 13 crews on the incident to ensure the area is safe for the public.

The spill was found at 10.20am local time (9.48am UK time) this morning and was reportedly from a suitcase containing medical supplies.

Because the suitcase was already on the plane when the suspected radioactive leak was discovered, the passengers were not allowed to disembark the plane.

Radiology experts have yet to assess the risk associated with the suitcase and the suspected leak. Company Aena, which manages El Prat airport, told local media that the checks were part of protocol.

It added that the incident was ‘minor’ and that no damage was caused to the airport’s infrastructure following the reported spill, which the risk assessment found to be of ‘low intensity’.

A regional emergency response coordination center said: “The radiological emergency response plan was activated this morning via a radioactive source on an aircraft.”

Shortly after 1.30pm local time (12.30pm UK time), Aena announced that the alert had been deactivated without incident after verifying that there was ‘no risk’. El Pais reports.

The passengers and crew were finally allowed to come out of their isolation at the beginning of the afternoon after three hours.

Aena said other flights and the airport’s operations were not affected.

A spokesperson for Swiss International Airlines said: ‘We can confirm that while unloading the cargo hold of flight LX1952 in Barcelona, ​​ground crew discovered that a box containing medical supplies had damp spots.

‘The flight was operated by an Air Baltic Airbus A220 with 134 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane has already been released and is on its way to Zurich. Further investigations are ongoing by local authorities.”