Ten people were injured when an escalator caught fire at John F. Kennedy International Airport, CBS News reported.
Terminal 8 had to be temporarily evacuated, and some international flights were affected.
Terminal 8 houses several international carriers, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Level, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.
The Fire Department of New York said shortly after 7 a.m. firefighters responded to a smoke alarm and found an escalator on fire.
Terminal 8 was evacuated and 990 people were bussed to another terminal.
"People started gasping and panicking because they could see black smoke coming towards them," passenger Elena Delgado said.
She explained that she was waiting for her flight to Texas at the gate when the chaos began. Passengers waited for instructions from airport officials.
“Within about 20 minutes we were all still at the airport. People were trying to get out and the people working at the airport were telling us not to go through the exit doors and wait here," she added.
Her father was waiting for her and they had been talking on FaceTime the whole time.
“I saw smoke. I saw a lot of smoke from top to bottom and it was moving fast." The people who work for the airport were jostling but not giving directions,” said Felix Delgado.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. | BGNES
