Ryanair flight forced to make emergency landing as nine injured

Ellen O'Donoghue

Nine people have been injured in a Ryanair flight which was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany.

Severe storms in southern Germany forced the flight to make an emergency landing late on Wednesday after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said.

The flight, travelling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members, encountered turbulence so intense around 8.30pm that the pilot was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria.

Those injured range in age from two to 59 years old, and included eight passengers and one crew member.

Three were taken to hospital, including a woman who had a head laceration and her two-year-old, who suffered bruising.

The other injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment. As a precaution, all passengers were checked for injuries by the emergency services.

Ryanair has said it arranged alternative transport for those affected and has apologised to anyone involved.

In a statement, the company said: "FR8 from Berlin to Milan on 4th June diverted to Memmingen after experiencing some air turbulence. The captain called ahead for medical assistance and the aircraft landed normally.

"To get passengers to their final destination as quickly as possible, we arranged for alternative transport from Memmingen to Milan that night, as well as a replacement flight this morning.

"We sincerely apologise to passengers affected by this diversion.”

Authorities did not permit the plane to continue flying, and the airline arranged bus transport for passengers. Milan is about 380 kilometres south of Memmingen.

Elsewhere in the region, storms damaged several homes in Ulm, Baden-Wurttemberg, according to the German news agency dpa.

Additional reporting: PA