London: Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin on Sunday hit turbulence over Turkey, airport authorities said. Eight of the injured were hospitalised.
Dublin Airport said in a statement that flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, landed safely as scheduled before 1pm local time.
It said the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and the fire and rescue department, “due to six passengers and six crew … reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey.”
The airport said all passengers were assessed for injuries aboard the plane, and eight were then taken to hospital.
The airline said “the matter is now subject to an internal investigation.”
The incident comes five days after a British man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of people were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London hit severe turbulence.
While turbulence-related fatalities are rare, injuries have piled up over the years. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts say reports of turbulence encounters also have been increasing and point to the potential impacts that climate change may have on flying conditions.
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