Plane forced into emergency diversion after passenger from Ebola-hit country boards 'in error'

A plane was forced into an emergency diversion after a passenger from the Ebola-stricken Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) boarded "in error".

The Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was forced to land in Montreal, Canada because of new US entry restrictions aimed to stop the spread of the virus disease, the US Customs and Border Protection said.

The new restrictions, introduced on Thursday, have banned non-US citizens who were in the DRC, South Sudan, or Uganda in the last 21 days.

Almost 140 people are believed to have died of Ebola in the outbreak.

Cabin crew put on masks after the captain announced the diversion, passengers on the flight said.

One, Deborah Mistor, said she and her fellow flyers were informed of the reroute four hours before they were set to land.

She told US outlet CBS: "I think enough people must have been questioning what was going on because 30 minutes later, he came back on and said that he wanted to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the plane, there were no technical difficulties, that it was strictly because of US authorities not allowing us to land in the US."

After the diversion, passengers were able to fly to Detroit on the same aircraft.

Officials did not specify when the person was last in the DRC.

Canadian authorities said the passenger did not show symptoms and had been flown back to France.

In a statement, Health Canada said: "A Public Health Agency of Canada Quarantine Officer assessed the traveller and determined they were asymptomatic."

Air France confirmed it had been asked by US authorities to divert the flight after "a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States".

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American passport-holders who have been in the DRC, South Sudan, or Uganda in the last three weeks will also be subject to travel restrictions.

Those travellers will be required to fly into Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia for enhanced screening.

One American doctor, working with a medical missionary group in the DRC, has tested positive for the disease, and is being treated in a special isolation ward in Germany.

The DRC is attempting to stop the spread of the disease by establishing temporary medical tents - two of which were set on fire by Congolese locals who believe the disease is "a white man’s invention" which "does not exist".

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said Ebola can only spread after they show symptoms.

The incubation period for Ebola can last between two and 21 days, with symptoms appearing eight to 10 days after contracting the disease.

The latest outbreak of Ebola has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain - which does not yet have a vaccine.

Any jab could take up to nine months to be ready for use.

Ebola's largest outbreak between 2013 and 2016 killed over 10,000, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.