An unknown number of passengers and crew were injured when a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 flying from Washington to Doha hit severe turbulence and made an emergency landing in the Azores. Flight 708 was almost five hours into the 14-hour flight Saturday when it hit three minutes’ worth of really rough air. Passengers tweeted accounts of numerous passengers, including children, hitting the ceiling and landing on other passengers. There was also a report of one passenger suffering a heart attack. None of the reports has been verified. No deaths were reported
It’s not clear if the Boeing 777-300ER was damaged but it landed safely at the Portuguese airbase of Lajes about 6 a.m. local time. Qatar Airways said it was sending a replacement aircraft and that passengers were being accommodated. Some of the passengers disputed that, saying American and European passengers got hotel rooms while others, including some who were injured, were left at the air base awaiting visas to enter the country.
