Lithium-ion battery fire in cabin injures 7 and prompts flight's return to California

A lithium-ion battery fire prompted a cross-country flight’s return to California, where four on the aircraft were hospitalized, authorities said.

The United Airlines flight from San Diego International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport had been in the air for a matter of seconds Tuesday morning when the emergency erupted in its cabin, according to officials and data from the flight tracking site FlightAware.

Seven people reported injuries, four of whom were taken to a UC San Diego trauma facility, the San Diego Fire Department said.

The hospitalized patients were treated for smoke inhalation, UC San Diego Health said in a statement.

United Airlines indicated in a statement that all or nearly all of the hospitalized people are crew members who might have put themselves in harm’s way to address the fire. The employees were hospitalized as a precaution, it said.

Three others who were injured refused hospitalization despite the advice of first responders, fire officials said. At least two of those people were passengers, according to United.