Turbulence injures passengers on flight to Mauritius

At least 17 passengers have been injured, two of them seriously, after a Condor Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Mauritius was hit by severe turbulence.

The plane was caught in the severe turbulence while flying near Madagascar, two hours before its scheduled landing in Mauritius.

Footage of the plane’s interior showed damages.

There were 270 passengers on board Flight DE 2314 during the incident on Thursday, according to Mauritius police.

It managed to make an emergency landing at Mauritius international airport at around 06:40 local time (02:40GMT), police said.

An emergency team evacuated the injured passengers to the nearest hospital.

“According to initial information, the incident occurred in mid-flight near Madagascar,” said Inspector Shiva Coothen of the Mauritius police press office.

“The authorities are waiting for the captain’s report to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident,” he added.

Mauritius was last week hit by Cyclone Freddy that saw flights grounded. Much of the southern Africa region has been experiencing heavy rains in recent weeks.