WATCH | Severe Turbulence On Air Europa Flight Leaves 40 Injured, Man Flung Into Overhead Bin

A severe turbulence on an Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner left 30 people injured on Monday. The turbulence was so strong that passengers were flung out of their seats, with one man even stuck in an overhead compartment.

Flight UX045, on its way to Montevideo, Uruguay, from Madrid, Spain, made an emergency landing at Natal Airport in northeastern Brazil at 2:32 a.m. local time, as per Zurich Airport Brasil.

"Our flight bound for Montevideo was diverted to Natal due to strong turbulence," Air Europa said in a statement.

"The plane landed normally, and those injured are already being treated."

A social media clip revealed sections of the airplane's ceiling panels torn off, oxygen masks dangling above passenger seats, and at least one seat severely damaged. Another video exposed a passenger being rescued from the overhead luggage compartment.

A passenger, Norys, told local newspaper Uruguayan outlet El Observador, "A long time after that, there was a very, very slight turbulence, it was barely felt, and from one moment to the next, the plane abruptly fell and we all went up."

"Those who did not have seatbelts flew and some remained hooked to the roof," he added.

Mariela Jodal, another passenger on the flight, said on X that she was wearing her seatbelt and was therefore protected from serious injuries, unlike other passengers who were thrown towards the ceiling.

"From one moment to the next, the plane destabilised and went into a dive. The people who didn't have seat belts went up in the air and hit the ceiling, and they got hurt - those who had seat belts on, not so much," a third passenger, Maximiliano, told Reuters.

People who hit the ceiling suffered cranial fractures and cuts to the face, a local medical team reported to Brazilian media.

According to The health secretariat from the government of Rio Grande do Norte state, the injured were being treated at Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital in Natal and a new flight would leave Madrid to pick up passengers who didn't catch a bus ride back to Uruguay.