Turbulence injuries prompts emergency landing in Brazil

BRASALIA: At least seven people were injured on Monday when an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo hit strong turbulence, prompting an emergency landing in Brazil, the airline said.

The plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with 325 people on board, was diverted in the early morning hours to the airport of Natal in northeastern Brazil on its way to the Uruguayan capital, the Spanish company said.

It added in a statement that seven passengers had been treated for “various injuries” while an undisclosed number were receiving attention for bruises. Preliminary information from Uruguay´s foreign ministry, to which AFP had access, showed 27 people received hospital care in Natal.

A ministry source told AFP all had “multiple injuries,” though there were no immediate indications of serious trauma. Air Europa said on X that a plane would be sent from Madrid to collect the passengers while the stricken Boeing is examined for damage.

Passengers would first be taken to Recife in Brazil, from where they will continue the journey to Montevideo, the company said. X user Mariela Jodal, who said she was among the passengers, wrote on the platform that several people were injured in “very strong turbulence,” but she was spared “thanks to the seat belt.”

Images she posted showed broken ceiling panels, with pipes and wires visible, while one photo shows emergency vehicles waiting on the tarmac in Natal.

In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew suffered skull, brain and spine injuries when a Singapore Airlines-operated Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.