Mother and daughter stuck on plane after mid-flight drama

A shocked mother was detained on a plane after fellow passengers mysteriously collapsed mid-flight.

Surrey mother Jill Onen, 47, had to stay in her seat on the Boeing 777 along with 215 other passengers while fire fighters in medical suits investigated.

Firefighters boarded the flight Mrs Onen and her daughter, Sheniz, were on

The decontamination operation was launched when the plane landed at Terminal 5, Heathrow, on November 1, after six people fainted on the British Airways flight from Newark.

Officials scanned the plane with a handheld device, while a paddling pool was placed at the end of an escape chute - believed to be part of a decontamination system.

Mrs Onen, who was returning from a shopping trip to America with daughter Sheniz, 18, said: "It was a bit of a nightmare and a shock to us all.

“By the time we got off elderly people who hadn't fainted were pretty close to it.”

Half a dozen ambulances were on standby as paramedics boarded the plane passengers who complained of feeling 'light-headed and faint'.

Emergency crews investigated and deemed the plane safe enough to be put back into use on the same day.

A BA spokeswoman was not able to say whether the aircraft underwent more rigorous cleaning procedures as a result of the fainting spells.