Around the World: Australia

Qantas jet hits turbulence

A Qantas plane hit turbulence and suddenly lost altitude over Malaysia, throwing terrified passengers around the cabin and leaving seven people injured, the airline said yesterday.

The Airbus A330 with 219 passengers and crew aboard was flying from Hong Kong to the Australian west coast city of Perth overnight when it struck "severe turbulence" over Malaysian Borneo, Qantas said in a statement.