Five passengers had to be taken to hospital after a Turkish Airlines plane was hit by severe turbulence over west Africa.
The incident happened aboard a plane that departed from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and was bound for Guinea’s capital Conakry on Monday night (29 August).
A total of 134 passengers were on board when the turbulence hit the Airbus A330-200 as it was approaching Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport in Conakry.
The airport deployed a crisis team of medics, firefighters and security staff after the cabin crew alerted the control tower staff to the turbulence.
Upon landing, medics took five people to hospital after they assessed the passengers’ injuries. Reports do not state what the injuries were or how they sustained them.
Severe turbulence can cause aircraft to rise and fall by up to 30 metres.
Such strong rapid jolts can cause injuries if passengers are not wearing their seatbelts, if baggage drops from the overhead bag lockers, and if unsecured items are flung around the cabin.
Passengers can also be injured by the strain of their seatbelts on the extremely bumpy flights.
Flight TK537 is a scheduled service from Istanbul to Conakry that Turkish Airlines operates three times per week, which also makes a 55-minute stopover in Ouagadougou.
At the airport, the plane remained on the ground for seven hours before flying to Istanbul after a delay of about five hours.
The Independent has contacted Turkish Airlines for comment.
In 2019, 29 passengers were injured as a result of severe turbulence on a Turkish Airlines flight.
The passengers on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft were hit by force winds about 45 minutes before landing at New York’s JFK airport.
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