Australian jet plunge injures 40

A passenger plane has made an emergency landing in Western Australia after some 40 people were hurt following a "sudden change in altitude", officials say. The Qantas Airbus A330-300 flying from Singapore to Perth with 313 people on board landed at Learmonth Airport near Exmouth after making a mayday call. Qantas said there was no sign yet as to what caused the altitude change, but officials suspect it was turbulence. Emergency services, including medical personnel, met the plane on landing. Three cabin crew and more than 30 passengers sustained injuries, 15 of them serious, including fractures and lacerations, officials said. Several people were taken to the hospital in Exmouth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service also sent two aircraft to Exmouth to help transport the injured to the state capital Perth, around 1,100km (700 miles) south of the town, if necessary.