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Ambulances leave Auckland airport after an incident on a flight leaving at least 50 injured
Photo: Dean Purcell / dpa
At least 50 people have been injured in an incident on a flight between Sydney, Australia and the New Zealand city of Auckland.
A "technical problem" caused severe turbulence on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on Monday, reported the broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ), citing the Chilean airline Latam.
The plane was able to land in Auckland as scheduled in the late afternoon (local time).
The injured on the flight, including several crew members, were immediately treated by doctors after landing.
The rescue workers were on duty with five ambulances, as the St. John Ambulance rescue service announced.
“People flew through the cabin”
Accordingly, there is at least one seriously injured person.
More than a dozen inmates were taken to hospitals.
"People flew through the cabin," RNZ quoted a passenger on Monday's flight as saying, who was uninjured.
Most of those affected were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the incident.
Another passenger told the radio station that several passengers hit the ceiling.
The plane was actually supposed to fly on to Santiago de Chile in the evening.
However, the flight was initially canceled and postponed to Tuesday.
It was initially unclear what exactly caused the incident.
The incident is part of recent problems at Boeing.
In January, in an incident involving a virtually new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-8 Max, a part of the fuselage broke off shortly after takeoff.
The more than 170 people on board were largely shocked.
As it became known over the weekend, the US Department of Justice is now investigating the case.
Just last week, a Boeing 777 lost a wheel shortly after takeoff from San Francisco.
kub/dpa