Around 40 passengers, most with minor injuries, were transported to hospitals in Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte state, after the plane was redirected early on Monday.
According to the news site G1, some passengers experienced fractures and others suffered head injuries due to the turbulence. As of Monday afternoon, at least four of them remained hospitalized.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner departed from Madrid at 11:57 PM on Sunday with 325 passengers on board. Its original destination was Montevideo, Uruguay, scheduled to arrive early Monday.
At 2:32 AM, Flight UX045, operated by Zurich Airport Brazil, requested an emergency landing at Natal airport in northeastern Brazil, which is approximately 4,000 kilometers away from Montevideo.
Air Europa stated on Twitter/X that the airport was the quickest to provide medical assistance to passengers in need.
The airline mentioned that there were passengers injured to different extents.
According to the state's public health department, 40 passengers from Spain, Uruguay, Israel, Germany, and Bolivia received treatment in government-run hospitals.
The majority of them were released after receiving medical care.
Four passengers were in stable condition at Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel hospital, awaiting test results before being discharged. Additionally, five others were transferred to private hospitals.
A user on social media platform X, who said they were aboard the flight, shared photos showing broken ceiling panels with visible pipes and wires.
At 1:12 PM, Air Europa announced that passengers who were not injured would be moved to Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state, located 255 kilometers from Natal. From there, they would be accommodated and continue their journey to Montevideo.
In May, a 73-year-old British man passed away, and several other passengers and crew members sustained injuries to their skulls, brains, and spines when a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore encountered turbulence. The plane had to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
A week later, eight individuals were hospitalized following turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland.
Scientists suggest that clear air turbulence, which cannot be detected by radar, is becoming more severe due to the climate crisis.
Research conducted by Reading University indicates that warmer temperatures caused by the climate crisis are causing notable increases in turbulence experienced on transatlantic flights.
They discovered that incidents of severe turbulence rose by 55% between 1979 and 2020 due to changes in wind speed at high altitudes.
SOURCE: The Guardian