Nine injured in severe turbulence that forced New York-bound flight to divert to MIA, officials say

Nine people were rushed to a Miami hospital early Friday morning after a New York-bound flight was forced to divert to Miami International Airport due to severe turbulence, authorities said.

According to Miami International Airport officials, Avianca Flight 42 was heading from Medellín, Colombia, to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport when severe turbulence was reported.

The Miami-Dade Fire Department said the flight landed safely in MIA around 3:30 a.m.

Airline officials told CBS News Miami that a total of three crew members and six passengers “sustained injuries or health issues” related to the severe turbulence.

A passenger who was at Miami International Airport when the Avianca flight arrived said she saw several ambulances waiting to help treat the injured.

“When we arrived, when we landed, we saw that very close to where we were going to disembark, there were more than five or six ambulances. Seven of them with their lights on like they were waiting for something,” passenger Maria Paula Jimenez told CBS News Miami in Spanish. “When we got there, well, you know, it wasn’t normal.”

Avianca officials said remaining passengers were receiving assistance from the airline’s airport team to make arrangements to continue their journey to New York.

The Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News Miami that the agency will investigate the incident.

The extent of the injuries is unknown.