‘Severe’ Turbulence Injured Passengers and Crew Aboard Etihad Airways Flight

— -- "Severe and unexpected" turbulence injured 31 passengers on a flight to Jakarta Wednesday, sending nine to the hospital, Etihad Airways confirms.

The Airbus A330, en route from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta, encountered bumpy air about 45 minutes prior to its arrival at Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

Photos show debris strewn throughout the aisles, and a possible crack in the cabin ceiling:

The oxygen masks reportedly deployed mid-flight, and one passenger even said she saw another passenger hit his head on the ceiling, suffering a severe head injury.

Medical assistance teams met passengers on the tarmac. Twenty-two were treated by paramedics on site, and nine were hospitalized. According to Etihad, which says it's covering passengers' medical expenses, most will be discharged by the end of the day.

“Our pilots and cabin crew are to be commended for the calm and professional manner in which they dealt with this exceptional event, and the care they showed the passengers, despite several being injured themselves," Etihad Aiways President and CEO James Hogan said in a statement. "It is testament to the high standard of our crew training that the effects of the turbulence were minimised. At no time was the safety of the aircraft, passengers or crew compromised.”