The authorities of Chile and New Zealand are investigating the “strong shake” that a Latam flight suffered yesterday between Sydney and Auckland, due to a “technical failure” which caused the plane to plunge suddenly, leaving about 50 people injured.

The New Zealand Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has said it is “collecting evidence relevant to the investigation, including the seizure of cockpit voice and flight data recorders.” to clarify what happened.

The TAIC has clarified that its investigations into this incident, occurred in international airspaceare given by virtue of a request from the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Chile (DGAC), which is the body “responsible for investigating the accident” within the framework of the International Aviation Convention.

For its part, the DGAC has announced in a statement published on the social network ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) that it plans to appoint “an accredited representative” in New Zealand to participate in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Latam has indicated in an email that “is working in coordination with the authorities to support investigations into the incident.”

Latam’s Boeing 787 plane carried 263 passengers on board and nine crew members when it landed on Monday at 16:26 local time (04:26 GMT) at Auckland Airport after the plane suddenly plunged mid-flight.

The incident caused injuries to about 50 peopleone of which was in “serious” condition and the rest with “moderate” or “mild” injuries, said the New Zealand Hato Hone St. John Emergency Service.

Latam has explained that ten passengers (two from New Zealand, four from Australia, one from Chile, two from Brazil and one from France) and three crew members were taken to hospitals, but the majority have already been discharged and none of them are injured. that puts “life at risk.”

Although the Chilean airline has not offered details of the technical failure so far, nor when the incident happened, one of the travelers reported a “sudden fall” about 45 minutes before landing.

“I was falling asleep, sitting next to the window in a row of three seats, and with the jolt I opened my eyes and saw my companion in the aisle on the roof of the plane, who was falling. I thought I was dreaming,” he told EFE Brian Adam Jokat, a 61-year-old Canadian who was traveling to Auckland.

According to Flightradar, the plane fell about 100 meters when it had covered about two-thirds of its route, suddenly falling from an altitude of 41,000 feet to about 40,692.

Flight L800 between Sydney and Santiago de Chile with a stopover in Auckland is very popular among the tens of thousands of Latin American immigrants traveling to their countries of origin.