At least 50 people have been injured in an incident on a flight between Sydney in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand, media reports said on Monday.
A "technical problem" caused severe turbulence on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported, citing the Chilean airline LATAM. However, the aircraft was able to land in Auckland on schedule in the late afternoon.
The incident came after a series of problems at Boeing. In January, a fuselage fragment broke off shortly after take-off in an incident involving an almost new Boeing 737-9 Max operated by Alaska Airlines. The more than 170 people on board largely escaped with a fright. The US Department of Justice is now investigating the case.
The injured on the flight to Auckland, including several crew members, were treated by doctors immediately after landing. The emergency services were deployed with five ambulances, according to St John Ambulance. At least one person was seriously injured. More than a dozen passengers were taken to hospital.
"People flew through the cabin," RNZ quoted one uninjured passenger on the flight as saying on Monday. Most of those affected were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident.
The aircraft was actually due to fly on to Santiago de Chile in the evening. However, the flight was initially cancelled and postponed until Tuesday. It was initially unclear what exactly caused the incident.