7 Injured Due to ‘Equipment Failure’ at Baltimore-Washington International Airport

Emergency personnel responding after an "equipment failure" involving a jet bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, on Dec. 29, 2018, in Baltimore. (Lynn Krugman via AP)

Officials say seven people have been injured after a “partial equipment failure” involving a jet bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

The airport initially tweeted that six people had been taken to a hospital as a precaution on the night of Dec. 29 with non-life-threatening injuries due to the incident at Gate E-10.

A few hours later, The Baltimore Sun reported that according to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), seven people had been injured in the incident.

In a statement, Southwest Airlines said that Flight 822 had just landed at 7:47 p.m. from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and was requesting paramedics to help with a medical situation involving a passenger on the flight.

Southwest says the airport’s passenger-loading bridge “experienced a failure” when four medics and two Southwest airline employees were helping to move the sick passenger off the aircraft.

All seven people on the jetbridge fell to the ground as it collapsed, according to the FAA. Southwest says the remaining passengers were able to safely exit the plane around 8:45 p.m. using air stairs, Fox Baltimore reported.

The airport says the plane has been moved and the incident has not caused further impacts to the airport’s operations. It added that an investigation into why the bridge collapsed is underway.

Additional reporting by Epoch Times staff.