A flight from Air Europa bound for Uruguay made an emergency landing in Brazil on Monday (1), after at least 30 people were injured due to “severe turbulence” that hit the flight.
The flight UX045 was traveling from Madrid to Montevideo when it encountered turbulence over the Atlantic near the Brazilian coast. It was then diverted to the city of Natal in northeastern Brazil.
Some passengers were thrown against the ceiling. A video from a passenger aboard the aircraft shows another passenger being pulled from the baggage compartment.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying over 300 passengers, was met by 15 ambulances on the runway, authorities said.
Most of the injured were taken to Hospital Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel in Natal.
A separate plane took off from Madrid on Monday afternoon to complete the transport of passengers to Uruguay, the Spanish airline said in a post on X.
The incident comes weeks after a Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence on its route from London to Singapore, leaving one man dead and dozens of others injured.
Authorities said the deceased passenger, a 73-year-old British man, may have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Although these deaths are rare, investigators warn that climate change may be causing more extreme cases of turbulence, most likely due to its effect on wind speed at higher levels of the atmosphere.
Source: NBC News