One passenger said it felt like "falling through a drop tower"

NEED TO KNOW

• Six crew members and four passengers were injured after severe turbulence hit a Cathay Pacific flight from Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday, May 24
• Eight of those injured received hospital treatment after landing at Hong Kong International Airport
• A passenger said the plane dropped twice in quick succession without any warning while members of the crew were starting to serve breakfast

Ten people were left injured following severe turbulence on a Cathay Pacific flight from Brisbane, Australia, to Hong Kong.

The airline confirmed to 9 News that four passengers and six crew members were injured in the mid-air incident, with eight needing hospital treatment, after turbulence hit flight CX156 on Sunday, May 24.

Medical professionals were on hand to attend to the passengers on the Airbus A350-900 as soon as it landed at Hong Kong International Airport at 6:45 a.m. local time, the outlet added.

Cathay Pacific told 9 News that medical crews provided the "utmost level of care" and said that the injuries sustained were "minor."

Photos shared on Facebook by A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew, said to be from the flight, show meals, food containers, drinks and equipment strewn around the plane following the turbulence.

One traveler told the South China Morning Post it felt like "falling through a drop tower," while another, businessman Nicholas Stevenson, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the "plane just dropped" and he thought it was "going down."

"There were phones flying, coffees smashed into the roof, food absolutely everywhere," he added. "People were screaming. There was a lot of people really freaking out."

Stevenson told the outlet that the turbulence began suddenly, just as the crew had started serving breakfast. He explained there was no warning or seatbelt sign, and said the plane dropped twice in quick succession.

"The first one caught everyone completely off guard, and then probably 15 or 20 seconds later it happened again," he told the ABC. "People who'd just managed to get back into their seats or grab onto something got thrown around again."

"Anyone [who] didn't have their belts on hit the roof," he added.

Stevenson explained that flight attendants seemed to be affected the most because they were standing in the aisle with service carts, and said passengers only realized the severity of the situation when they were asked if any doctors were on board.

He said four doctors on the flight assisted the injured passengers and crew members as the flight continued to Hong Kong. "There wasn't really anywhere else to land," he told the ABC. "They just treated people at the back of the plane while we kept flying."

"The pilot said they believed it was some sort of thunder or lightning cell," Stevenson continued. "He said they didn't really see it on the radar until the last minute because it was dark."

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Airport Authority Hong Kong told the South China Morning Post it received a report about the flight at roughly 6:00 a.m. local time and "immediately requested fire and ambulance services to stand by."

PEOPLE has reached out to Cathay Pacific and Airport Authority Hong Kong for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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