adminHONG KONG. — Jolyn Jefferies, the mother of promising Zimbabwean motor racing driver Axcil, was among 25 people who were injured when a passenger jet from South Africa to Hong Kong hit turbulence yesterday, police said, with two men seriously hurt and hospitalised in the southern Chinese city.
According to Axcil’s father, Suhail, his wife was on the South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Hong Kong and was among the injured passengers. She suffered a fractured finger and whiplash.
“She was one of the injured. They were ferried from the airport by ambulance to the hospital in Hong Kong where she is receiving treatment,” Suhail Jefferies said from Johannesburg yesterday.
Local television images showed ambulances on the tarmac at Hong Kong’s airport taking away the injured, who were on a South African Airways jet from Johannesburg which landed at around 12:30pm (4:30am Zimbabwean time).
Hong Kong airport authorities said they were notified by the plane’s captain at 11am that they would need help from emergency services when they landed.
“There was a plane that flew in from South Africa that saw multiple passengers injured when it encountered turbulence,” a police spokeswoman said.
Twelve men and 13 women, including Jolyn Jefferies, were injured, police said, with two men seriously hurt.
Details of the injuries of the other passengers were not immediately known.
South African Airways spokesperson Tlali Tlali confirmed in a statement that flight SA286, en route from Johannesburg to Hong Kong “on 15 July at 17:11pm (South African time) experienced severe turbulence injuring some passengers and crew”.
“Flight SA286 landed safely in Hong Kong on Wednesday at approximately 6:30am SA time. The crew of the flight immediately requested medical assistance for the passengers, which was arranged and ready on arrival of the aircraft in Hong Kong. — AFP-Sports Reporter.
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