HK-bound plane returns to NAIA due to ill American

MANILA, Philippines — An aircraft bound for Hong Kong made an emergency landing on Tuesday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) because of an ailing 22-year-old American passenger.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said the Cathay Pacific flight CX 912 departed from the NAIA Terminal 3 at 9:04 a.m. and was in mid-flight when the colon cancer-stricken foreigner complained of severe abdominal pain.

MIAA said that the pilot immediately radioed the Manila tower and declared an emergency landing because of the passenger who required medical attention.

When the aircraft landed at 10:09 a.m. at the NAIA Terminal 3, a waiting medical team brought the American passenger to the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay City.

A report from the MIAA medical team said that the severe abdominal pain felt by the foreigner could have been caused by low gastro-intestinal bleeding. SFM