Vanilla Ice Tweets From Quarantined Emirates Plane In New York: ‘This Is Crazy’

Vanilla Ice took to Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday to share his experience aboard of an Emirates airplane that was held at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after several people were reported ill. “This is crazy,” the singer tweeted.

“So I just landed in New York coming back from Dubai and now I’m stuck on the runway with like 1000 police, ambulances, fire trucks, this is crazy,” the rapper and home renovation TV personality wrote in a Facebook post.

The “Ice Ice Baby” singer posted an accompanying video of his view from the plane’s window, which shows ambulances and police officers on the ground.

So I just landed from Dubai and now there is like tons of ambulances and fire trucks and police all over the place pic.twitter.com/i9QLh6WyJW

— Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) September 5, 2018

The Emirates Airbus A380, which was carrying about 520 passengers, arrived at Terminal 4 and was diverted to a holding area where it was met by the Centers for Disease Control and Port Authority police.

Vanilla Ice said in a tweet that more than 100 people had gotten sick on the bottom floor of the double-decker airbus, adding that he was seated in a different area upstairs in first class. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially reported that 100 people, including some crew members, had complained of illness, according to the BBC. Later, it was confirmed that 10 people were taken to the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens. Another nine people had presented symptoms but refused medical treatment, WCBS-TV.

Those unaffected were soon allowed to leave the plane.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Vanilla Ice told The Blast after he disembarked, “During the flight there was a situation, they told us we would be in the middle of the runway after a 15-hour flight. They said there are some passengers that are ill so we are going to go out on the runway and hang out.”

Statement: Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.

— Emirates (@emirates) September 5, 2018

The rapper said he was given a quick exam by officials and had to fill out a health form, according to The Blast interview. Other than fatigue as a result of a 15-hour flight and the ensuing situation at JFK, Ice said he is feeling fine. He did, however, miss his connecting flight because of the incident but is now catching a connecting flight back home to Florida.

The cause of the reported illness is not yet known, but U.S. officials believe this incident was caused by food poisoning, but passengers also suggested a flu virus as a possible cause, according to the WCBS-TV report.

The pilot reportedly raised concerns before landing that some of the passengers were coughing and experiencing high temperatures, BBC reported.