"[Seventy] firefighters and paramedics on-scene and committed to providing care for those injured," the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a Friday afternoon statement. Officials later confirmed that the substance dropped on the school grounds was jet fuel.
A total of 26 individuals, including 17 children, are being treated by emergency responders after coming in contact with jet fuel dumped from the aircraft around noon local time, according to the Fire Department. All reported injuries are said to be minor and require no medical transport from the scene.
Alleged video from the scene posted to social media shows the plane releasing the fuel as it passes overhead.
Caught this in Bell Gardens over my house NEWS SAID IT DROPPED FUEL OVER AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN CUDAHY @KTLA @FOXLA @cnnbrk @UniNoticias @NBCLA @ABC7 @ABC @NBCNews @TelemundoNews pic.twitter.com/VG3HBpyYtn
— Sujey Hernandez (@SujeyHernandez) January 14, 2020
"Delta Air Lines Flight 89 declared an emergency after departing from LAX, returned to the airport and landed without incident. The FAA is aware of and looking into reports that children at a school east of LAX are being treated for fuel exposure," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement obtained by NBC Los Angeles.
Additional footage uploaded by LA Times reporter Colleen Shalby shows the plane landing at LAX shortly after the dumping. An LAX spokesperson confirmed to LA-based outlet KTLA that the aircraft is a Boeing 777 belonging to Delta Air Lines.
Shortly before this plane landed at LAX, it dumped what's believed to be fuel on an elementary school playground, hitting several students. LA County Fire said 70+ are on scene assessing multiple patients https://t.co/G5duAwTvUt pic.twitter.com/LsJaAOTfpg
— Colleen Shalby (@CShalby) January 14, 2020
The school, identified as Park Avenue Elementary School by NBC Los Angeles, is located approximately 15 miles east of LAX.
