An Air Canada flight en route from Shanghai to Toronto diverted and landed in Calgary after severe turbulence injured 21 passengers. It was not immediately clear what caused the atmospheric instability.
The Boeing 777-300ER, which was carrying 332 passengers and 19 crew, made the emergency landing at 3:23 p.m. local time (2223 UTC) on Wednesday.
“Confirming AC088 Shanghai to Toronto, encountered turbulence en route, diverted Calgary,” Air Canada announced on Twitter.
After landing in Calgary in southern Canada, the airline said 21 passengers, were transferred to hospitals – eight had non-life-threatening injuries, another 13 were sent for observation. Three children were also among the injured.
‘Unsettling experience’
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada, Klaus Goersch, said the flight had “been a very unsettling experience” for those on board.
“Safety is always our first priority and so any incident involving the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost concern,” he added.
The incident is being investigated by Air Canada and the Transportation Safety Board.
ksb/msh (Reuters, AFP, AP)
