13 people on board Korean Air flight taken to hospital after plane ...

SINGAPORE: Thirteen passengers were taken to hospital after a Korean Airlines flight from South Korea to Taiwan on Saturday (Jun 22) was diverted due to a defect in the aircraft, local media reported.

Flight KE189 departed from Incheon International Airport for Taichung International Airport at 4.45pm on Saturday with 125 passengers on board, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The plane detected a problem with its pressurisation system 50 minutes after taking off, said Yonhap. At the time, it was flying over South Korea's resort island of Jeju.

An air pressurisation system regulates the internal cabin pressure of an aircraft.

According to data from flight tracking service Flightradar24, the plane's altitude fell by 25,000ft (7.6km) in about eight minutes.

The plane arrived back at Incheon Airport at about 7.40pm.

Fifteen passengers suffered from eardrum pain and hyperventilation during the descent and 13 of them were taken to hospital, Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

No serious injuries have been reported, it added.

A man surnamed Tseng who went to South Korea for a business trip told the Taipei Times that the children who were on board the plane were crying when the oxygen masks dropped down.

He also shared with the news outlet that he was afraid the plane might hit the ground.

Another passenger on the plane surnamed Hsu told Taipei Times that she felt something was amiss as the aircraft seemed to be hovering in the air and the flight attendants remained in their seats. 

She added she and her daughters put on oxygen masks when the plane plunged in altitude. She also said her daughters were crying when that happened and she experienced an earache and headache.

The flight resumed on Sunday morning with a different aircraft about 19 hours after the initial departure schedule, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passengers on the flight, and we will do our best to minimize any inconvenience (caused by the delay), including providing accommodations," the news site reported, citing a Korean Air spokesperson.   "We are currently investigating the exact cause of the diversion, and plan to put the aircraft under maintenance after an inspection," the spokesperson added.