An Air Canada flight traveling from Shanghai to Toronto was forced to land in Calgary after experiencing severe turbulence that left nearly two dozen people injured.
Terrifying photos of the aftermath inside the plane provided by passenger Helen Zhang #AC88 pic.twitter.com/ZGKR2dUWmq— Meghan Grant (@CBCMeg) December 31, 2015
Calgary fire department spokeswoman Carol Henke told CBC News that as many as 20 people were hurt and are being treated for injuries sustained from the turbulence.
A statement by Air Canada late Wednesday evening confirmed 21 people had been transported to local hospitals in Calgary, 8 for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and another 13 for observation.
First injured passenger brought out by EMS, being loaded in ambulance now #ac88 pic.twitter.com/rmhSNeTrTf— Meghan Grant (@CBCMeg) December 30, 2015
Second injured passenger taken from plane to ambulance by stretcher #ac88 pic.twitter.com/0tqOWuRt83— Meghan Grant (@CBCMeg) December 30, 2015
Connie Gelber, a passenger on the plane, told The Globe and Mail that a fellow passenger was thrown from her seat and that the entire incident was like out of a movie: “Honestly, we felt we were dying. Like you see in the movies, where they all go up to the ceiling –- everything went up to the ceiling that wasn’t anchored.”
Third injured passenger now off - we believe this may be the last seriously injured person #ac88 pic.twitter.com/JxsnZCydQD— Meghan Grant (@CBCMeg) December 30, 2015
turbulence lasted a total of 45 minutes in waves "like a roller coaster". Oxygen masks came down and people started crying #ctvcalgary— Rahim Ladhani (@RLadhaniCTV) December 31, 2015
CBC reporter Meg Graham reported that a Transportation Safety Board investigator was headed to the Calgary airport to begin looking into the incident.
Transportation Safety Board has been alerted by airline & is deploying an investigator to Calgary airport scene of Air Canada incident— Meghan Grant (@CBCMeg) December 30, 2015
This story is developing.