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Delta Plane Dumps Fuel On 4 Elementary Schools Over LA, Minor Injuries Reported

In this image from video, a Delta plane dumps fuel over Los Angeles before returning for an emergency landing on Tuesday. Fire officials say fuel fell onto an elementary school playground.
Matt Hartman
/
AP
In this image from video, a Delta plane dumps fuel over Los Angeles before returning for an emergency landing on Tuesday. Fire officials say fuel fell onto an elementary school playground.

Updated at 6:43 p.m. ET

Teams treated children and adults for minor injuries at four suburban Los Angeles elementary schools Tuesday after a Delta flight dumped jet fuel on the way to an emergency landing.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department said 20 children and 11 adults were treated for minor injuries when the fuel fell on the playground of Park Avenue Elementary in Cudahy. First responders also treated six people at Tweedy Elementary and six at San Gabriel Elementary in South Gate, along with one at Graham Elementary in Florence-Graham.

No patients were taken to the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that Delta Flight 89 declared an emergency after departing Los Angeles International Airport, returned to the airport and landed without incident.

The FAA said it is investigating the incident and that when fuel is dumped, it is supposed to be over "designated unpopulated areas."

The LA Unified School District said students and staff complained of skin irritation or breathing difficulties.

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Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.
Barbara Campbell