Cathay Pacific Hong Kong to SFO

HONG KONG (CBS / AP) — Cathay Pacific Airways says at least nine people were injured when a Boeing 747 hit severe turbulence over Japan.

The airline said two crew members and six passengers were taken to hospital after the jet landed in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening. Another passenger who sustained an injury didn’t require hospitalization.

The 747-400, which departed from San Francisco, was carrying 321 passengers and a crew of 21. It encountered the turbulence near Hokkaido around noon Hong Kong time Tuesday.

Cable News television showed one passenger being taken away in a stretcher.

A passenger surnamed Wu told local TV news channels he felt like he was a on a roller coaster during the turbulence, which lasted two minutes. He said some passengers were thrown out of their seats and hit the overhead bins.

Vincent Sunder, who was flying to India after traveling to San Francisco on business, spoke to KPIX 5 by phone about the turbulence. He said it was like being on a bull for two minutes.

“It was extremely scary because it was throwing you up and down, sideways. Quite a few people in front of me were thrown up from the seats. A few of them even hit the ceiling of the aircraft, ” Sunder said. “We had a couple of baggage vents opening up and bags flying out.”