Some passengers on a Latam Airlines flight to New Zealand, which suffered a “technical incident” and left dozens injured, return to Chile

(CNN Spanish) — A group of passengers aboard the Latam Airlines flight, which this Monday became the victim of a “technical incident” and left dozens injured during a trip from Australia to New Zealand, arrived in Chile this Tuesday, the CNN team present at the airport reported. Confirmed it. Who spoke to international Arturo Merino Benítez and two of them.

“The experience was horrible,” Veronica Martínez of Chile, who was on flight LAN800 bound for Auckland, told the press, adding that until the plane “stopped, went down, (there) were people flying, things flying. Till then everything was normal.” ,

Martínez said she was not injured because she was wearing a seat belt, but she saw people, including a child, thrown through the air, and described the moment as a “roller coaster”.

Another of the passengers, Diego Valenzuela, who spoke to the media when leaving the airport this Tuesday, highlighted that “for 3, 4 seconds (it) fell and after that, several People got injured.”

Both Martínez and Valenzuela declared that they were relieved to be on Chilean soil.

As of Tuesday, it was not known for certain how many people were involved in the incident, which arrived in the Chilean capital on Tuesday on flight LAN1130 connecting Auckland to Santiago, and no request for information was sent by CNN to the airline. meet. The answer was given.

Crashed flight between Australia and New Zealand

Dozens of people were injured on Monday when Latam Airlines flight LAN800 from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, suddenly went into motion due to a “technical incident”, the flight operator said.

Emergency medical service provider Hato Hone St John Ambulance told CNN that about 50 people were treated for injuries upon arrival in Auckland, including one in critical condition. The operator said that 12 patients have been taken to the hospital.

The affected passengers and cabin crew “received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated as necessary by medical personnel at the airport,” LATAM Airlines told CNN in a statement.

No further information was given about the cause of the incident.

Chilean technicians will participate in the investigation

Chile’s Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) said in a statement on Tuesday that a team from the unit traveled to New Zealand to investigate the incident.

This Tuesday, the DGAC communications office told CNN that the team is made up of four members who will be given the aircraft’s black boxes – which record flight data – for analysis. A technician from New Zealand will also join the investigation.

DGAC told CNN that the plane that suffered a “technical incident” remains on the ground in Auckland, although it did not rule out that it could eventually be moved while the investigation is underway.