40 injured in Qantas incident over WA

(AAP) Passengers aboard a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth suffered fractures and lacerations following a "sudden change in altitude", the airline says.

Flight QF72 was forced to land at Learmonth in Western Australia on Tuesday
afternoon after a mayday call.
"Emergency services, including medical attendants, met the aircraft on landing," a
statement from the airline said.
It said a number of passengers and crew had sustained injuries, including "fractures
and lacerations".
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is preparing to send up to four planes to Exmouth.
Two RFDS aircraft had left Jandakot airport, south of Perth, and another two may be
diverted, Ms Green said, adding that the situation was changing by the minute.
"It depends on the strength of the illness but generally we have two stretchers in
each aircraft," she said.
"So we're expecting to maybe bring back ... six to eight possibly.
"There are other people whose injuries won't require them to be transported.
"I think we would be transporting most of the people with fractures because I'm not
sure that Exmouth Hospital could manage those kinds of fractures.
"I don't believe that there are any in a life-threatening condition. But if people
have had hits on the head or have been hit by flying objects until you actually
assess that, you don't know whether it could be a spinal or neurological issue."
Qantas said there were no details available at this stage as to what caused the
altitude change.
Police said up to 40 people were injured in the incident.
WA police Sergeant Greg Lambert said 10 passengers were taken to Exmouth Regional
Hospital with injuries described as "quite serious".
The Airbus A330-300 was carrying more than 300 people, he said.
"It is understood up to 40 people were injured during a mid-air incident," Sgt
Lambert said earlier.
He said Qantas had activated its passenger welfare plan and sent two aircraft to
Learmonth to take passengers to their final destination in Perth.
The flight had 303 passengers and 10 crew on board, Qantas said in its statement.
An eyewitness said emergency vehicles and ambulances had surrounded the aircraft.
It landed safely at 1.35pm WST (1635 AEDT).
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it had received an early report on the
incident.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the aircraft had experienced a
"sudden in-flight upset" while cruising in "level flight".
It said most of the injured were travelling in the rear of the aircraft.
"The crew declared a mayday and diverted the aircraft to Learmonth, near Exmouth in
WA, where it landed without further incident," the ATSB said in a statement.
The ATSB had initiated a safety investigation and was making arrangements for
investigators to travel to Learmonth as soon as possible, it said.
ATSB spokesman Ian Sangston said as many as 30 people were injured and up to 15
people had broken bones as a result of the incident.
"At that stage the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to Learmonth," Mr
Sangston said.
Two ATSB investigators were preparing to arrive at Learmonth, near Exmouth about 9pm
WST (midnight AEDT) on a chartered aircraft.
Five other investigators will also travel to the airport to investigate the incident.