About 50 people were injured after a “strong movement” during a flight of a LATAM airline plane due to a “technical failure,” indicated the company and New Zealand emergency services. The injured, one with a serious prognosis and the rest with moderate and minor injuries, were treated after the aircraft landed at the airport in the New Zealand city of Auckland.
“Flight LA800, which operates the Sydney – Auckland route today, had a technical problem during the flight which caused a strong movement (…) As a result of the incident, some passengers and cabin crew were affected,” LATAM noted in a brief statement.
Although the airline did not give details of the technical failure or when the incident occurred, a passenger reported that she experienced a “small quick fall,” according to statements reported by the New Zealand Herald newspaper. “The whole plane froze,” described the woman, who was not identified by the New Zealand newspaper.
The plane landed in the New Zealand city around 3:58 p.m. local time (03:58 GMT) as planned, LATAM said. New Zealand’s Hato Hone St. John Emergency Service said in a statement that its staff assessed and treated a total of 50 people, of whom one is in “serious” condition and the rest in “moderate” or “mild.” . Of the total injured, 13 patients were taken to an Auckland hospital, the St. John’s spokesperson added.
Flight L800, between Sydney and Santiago de Chile with a stopover in Auckland, is very popular among the tens of thousands of Latin American immigrants traveling to their countries of origin.