Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Eleven people were seriously injured during turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight.
The Airlines flight, carrying 278 passengers and 10 crew members, had left the USA city of Phoenix and had just 30 minutes short of Honolulu when it had hit by severe turbulence. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said that the airplane, an Airbus A-330, landed safely, and 36 passengers were treated for injuries, including a severe head injury, bruises, lacerations, and loss of consciousness.
Twenty of the injured were taken to the hospital — 11 are in serious condition, and nine others are described as stable. And 16 people were treated at the airport. The youngest patient was just 14 months old. Passenger Kaylee Reyes said her mother just returned to her seat when turbulence hit.
People couldn’t get time to do up safety
Ms. Reyes said she did not get the time to do up her safety belt before she flew up and hit the ceiling. Hawaiian Airlines said that 13 people and 3 crew members were taken to hospital, but it is not yet clear why their numbers were different from those given by emergency services.
The US National Weather Service said that a powerful cold front was passing through Hawaii, bringing damaging winds, potential severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding. NWS meteorologist Thomas Vaughan said that there was a weather advisory for thunderstorms that included Oahu and areas that would have included the flight path at the time of the incident.
