50 or more injured in mid air Qantas incident

Fifty people or more were injured, some suffering broken bones, when a Qantas flight with over 300 passengers on board was involved in a ‘mid-air incident’ and forced into an emergency landing in remote Western Australia.

The jet was on route to Melbourne from Singapore when the incident made it necessary to divert to the Learmonth Airport, in Exmouth, approximately 1,200km north of Perth, at 1:30 pm local time.

A Western Australia Police spokesman told the Times Online that nurses were at the scene treating passengers who would then be transported to a local hospital.

The spokesman added that from his understanding, none of the injuries was life-threatening.

Qantas advised that a number of passengers and members of the crew on flight QF72 sustained injuries, including lacerations and fractures.

The flight was scheduled to make a stop in Perth, and according to an airline official, a sudden change in the aircraft’s altitude caused the injuries and led to the flight being diverted to Learmonth Airport.

This incident follows a number of others that have plagued the airline in recent months, including one that required a jet travelling from London to Melbourne to make an emergency landing in the Philippines.

www.qantas.com.au