CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two unrelated incidents caused a scare at Charleston’s Yeager Airport Wednesday night.
The FBI and officials with the Centers for Disease Control removed three passengers from a flight that landed at Yeager from Atlanta around 11:40 p.m. There was a concern those passengers may have been exposed to the Ebola virus. The three were questioned and examined by medical personnel from the county, state, and federal level while the rest of the passengers remained on board.
Airport officials said authorities later determined the three passengers had no exposure to the Ebola virus.
The remaining passengers were briefed and allowed to deplane around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday. Airport officials said they executed a protocol put in place only a day earlier to deal with such a scenario.
Around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, four airport employees were exposed to an unknown substance in an unclaimed piece of luggage in the baggage claim area. Two of those employees went on their own to the Charleston Area Medical Center to be checked out. As hazardous materials teams arrived at the airport to investigate the luggage, the terminal was locked down and the access road to the airport was closed.
Reports indicated the material was C-S gas, often used in the production of tear gas. It’s still unclear how it wound up in luggage in the baggage claim area. The airport was reopened after the leak was contained.