MIAMI, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Four people were listed in serious condition at Miami area hospitals Monday after turbulence forced a Continental Airlines plane to make an emergency landing.
Officials said Flight 128 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Houston when it flew through fierce turbulence, injuring 28 of the 168 passengers and forcing the plane to divert to Miami International Airport for an emergency stop, The Miami Herald reported.
Fourteen of the injured were taken to hospitals, which listed four people in serious condition, fire officials said. The rest of the injured were treated at the scene.
An airline catering truck was used to take some of the passengers from the plane, said Lt. Elkin Sierra, a Miami-Dade fire rescue spokesman.
"It has a solid, large platform to bring patients down," Sierra told the Herald. "It's safer for them and our personnel."
The Boeing 767 was about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic when it encountered turbulence, said Kathleen Bergen, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.
"The crew reported hitting severe turbulence and elected to divert to Miami," Bergen said.
FAA investigators were at Miami International Airport to examine the plane and talk to crew members, the newspaper said. The investigation also will look into whether other planes in the area around the same time as Flight 128 experienced turbulence, Bergen said.
