- This story is developing, more to come
Eleven people were injured after a Lufthansa flight from Buenos Aires to Frankfurt was hit by heavy turbulence during a flight across the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
“Unfortunately, five passengers and six crew suffered mainly minor injuries,” a Lufthansa spokesman told Reuters in an email, confirming a report by news agency DPA.
“The safety of the flight was at no time compromised,” the spokesperson added.
The injured received immediate medical treatment after the plane landed safely at its planned destination at 10:53 a.m. (0953 GMT) on Tuesday, the airline said.
The Boeing 747-8 was carrying 329 passengers and 19 crew members. The turbulence was short-lived and occurred in an intertropical convergence zone, the company said.
Eleven people have been injured after a Lufthansa flight from Buenos Aires to Frankfurt was hit by severe turbulence while traveling across the Atlantic Ocean (File Image)
According to data from FlightRadar24, the plane, registered D-ABYP, climbed to 33,000 feet before being buffeted by turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean after taking off from Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires.
AirLive.net, an industry publication, reported that when the plane climbed to 35,000 feet to avoid bad weather, five passengers who were not wearing seat belts were injured.
After the plane landed at Frankfurt Airport, the injured crew members and passengers were taken to hospital.
In May, a passenger died of a suspected heart attack and 30 people were injured when a Singapore Airlines passenger plane was seriously shaken by an air pocket over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin.
More to follow.