17 Chinese passengers hurt as Hong Kong-bound flight hit by air turbulence over Borneo
Passengers travelling from Bali – one of whom was severely injured – were rushed to hospital after plane ran into severe turbulence
Seventeen Chinese nationals were injured, with 12 taken to hospital, yesterday as a Hong Kong Airlines flight departing from Bali, in Indonesia, was hit by severe turbulence.
“Twelve people were rushed to a hospital, one of them with a very serious injury,” said Herni Pramuharjo, spokesman of the Indonesian transport ministry said, according to Xinhua. “Five others were treated at the health clinic in the airport.”
A spokeswoman for Hong Kong Airlines confirmed that 14 passengers and three crew members were injured, but most of them were quickly discharged. Only one passenger, a citizen from the mainland who was severely wounded, was still in hospital yesterday afternoon.
The same spokeswoman told the Sunday Morning Post that the airlines “will offer every feasible assistance” to those injured.
The incident occurred when the aeroplane was flying over Kalimantan, Indonesia’s part of Borneo, about one hour after flight HX6704, bound for Hong Kong, took off from Bali International Airport at 1.50am.
The Airbus A330-200 with 204 passengers and 12 crew returned to Bali about two and a half hours later.