Elevator Fluid Spews; Carrier Visitors Panic

PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. — As many as 30 visitors aboard the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy were injured Tuesday when a platform elevator’s hydraulic line broke, spewing fluid and causing panic among its passengers.

None of the injuries were serious, with most apparently being minor scrapes and bruises, said Kristen Anderson, a spokeswoman for Port Everglades, where the carrier was docked.

Lt. Paul Jenkins, a spokesman for the Navy in Norfolk, Va., said about 30 people were treated for injuries, including more than 20 who were treated by paramedics at the scene and others who were sent to hospitals.

The elevator’s hydraulic line burst shortly after 3 p.m., spraying visitors who had come to see the world’s largest steam-powered aircraft carrier, said Anderson, adding that the fluid was not hot. The elevator, which is used to carry aircraft from the hangar bay to the flight deck, was taking between 50 and 100 visitors from one deck of the ship to another.

The elevator did not stop or drop when the line burst, Jenkins said, and port officials said panicked guests, rather than the broken fluid line, caused most of the injuries.