Tokyo flight turbulence hurts 30

Ambulances took injured passengers to hospital in Tokyo

About 30 people have been injured after a passenger jet was hit by severe turbulence as it neared the end of a flight from Manila to Tokyo.

At least two passengers on the Northwest Airlines jet were seriously injured, officials say.

Turbulence struck while the plane was circling off the coast of Chiba, east of Tokyo, an airline spokesman said.

Ambulances met the plane at Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, and ferried the injured to hospital.

The Boeing 747-400 plane had been carrying more than 400 passengers plus 14 crew when the incident happened on Friday.

All those injured were passengers, said Northwest Airlines spokesman Masashi Takahashi.

"The turbulence occurred 25 to 30 minutes before landing, when the seatbelt light was on," he said.

"During the flight, we received a message from the pilot saying two or three people were injured. But (the pilot) probably assessed that an emergency landing was not necessary.

"It is possible that the people injured did not have their seatbelts on, otherwise all of the 422 passengers would have been injured as well."

Japanese media quoted witnesses saying that those who had not fastened their seatbelts had been sent crashing into the ceiling as the plane shook violently.