JFK Airport fire temporarily shuts down terminal, leaves 9 hurt

NEW YORK -- Nine people were hurt when an escalator caught fire at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning.

Terminal 8 had to be temporarily evacuated, and some international flights were impacted.

Airport officials say the terminal has resumed normal operations, but travelers should always check with their airlines for their flight status.

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.

Travelers scrambled as Terminal 8 filled with smoke

The FDNY said firefighters responded shortly after 7 a.m. to reports of smoke and found an escalator on fire.

Terminal 8 was evacuated because of the smoky conditions, and 960 people were bused to another terminal, airport officials said.

"People started gasping, and people started kind of freaking out around themselves, because they saw a huge black gulp of smoke coming toward them," traveler Elena Delgado told CBS New York.

Delgado said she was waiting for her flight at the gate when the chaos started, as travelers waited for instructions from airport staff.

"For about 20 minutes, we were all still in the airport. People were trying to exit, and people who work in the airport were telling us not to go through the exit gates and to wait around," she said.

Her father had been waiting for her, and they ended up on FaceTime the entire time.

"I saw smoke. I saw a good amount of smoke from top to bottom, and it was moving quickly," said Felix Delgado. "The people who work for the airport were scrambling, but they weren't giving directions."

Of the nine people who suffered minor injuries, eight were treated at local hospitals.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.