Several passengers have been treated after a “technical issue” on a LATAM Air flight to Auckland

Emergency medical workers treated about 50 people on Monday after a LATAM Airlines flight to Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, experienced what the airline called “strong traffic” caused by a “technical issue.”

Auckland Ambulance Service said 12 people, one of them in a serious condition, were taken to three hospitals. LATAM, a Chilean airline, did not provide any details about the technical problem it said caused the disruption.

Brian Jukat, who was on board LATAM Airlines Flight 800, said the plane made a “hard landing” for only a second or two. It showed a gap of about an hour For which no data was available.

“The plane just went down,” said Gokat, 61. “It felt like you were going to the top of a roller coaster and going down, and then it straightened out immediately.”

The jolt woke Mr. Gokat, who was wearing a seatbelt, from his nap, and the next moment the plane was in free fall. He saw the passenger next to him being thrown to the roof of the plane, then crashing again.

“Anyone who was not in a seatbelt was thrown out,” he said. “You can't be thrown out.”

He added that there were no prior announcements stating that passengers must wear seat belts, as usually happens in turbulence on board the plane.

The plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, was received at Auckland International Airport by 14 emergency vehicles, including seven ambulances, according to the city's ambulance service, Hato Hon St John. Ambulance crews treated about 50 people at the scene of the accident, including the person who was in serious condition. The others were in “moderate to minor” condition, the service said.

Six people were taken to the emergency department at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland while four others were on their way, hospital spokesman Rob Harley said. He said the six patients at the hospital had injuries, including cuts, abrasions and lacerations, but all were able to walk — “in other words, not life-threatening.”

The flight was scheduled to continue from Auckland to Santiago, the capital of Chile, later on Monday. Latam said that leg of the flight had been canceled and that passengers bound for Santiago would be transferred there on Tuesday.