Severe turbulence over Indonesia injures 31 Etihad passengers

Thirty-one people were injured after flight EY474 from Abu Dhabi ran into unexpected turbulence about 45 minutes before landing at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Wednesday, Etihad said.

Most of the passengers were Indonesian Muslims returning from a minor pilgrimage known as umrah in Saudi Arabia.

"Three pilgrims suffered spinal fractures," Edi Suryono, a doctor at the airport's clinic, was quoted as saying by BeritaSatu.com news website.

Several other passengers had difficulty breathing and bruises to the head, he said.

Photos taken by a passenger, posted on Twitter, showed broken overhead bins and oxygen masks dropping.

The turbulence occurred soon after passengers finished a meal and many were not wearing seatbelts, the report said.

Passengers recounted terrifying scenes on the plane.

"Suddenly my body was jolted up and down and my head hit the ceiling until it cracked," Lita Herlita, a 42-year-old pilgrim was quoted as saying by Kompas daily.

"I feel sorry for old women who were hit by big bags. There was blood on their heads and some had broken bones."

"We could only scream "Allah, Allah ya Allah. I thank God I'm still alive." 

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