Plane Passengers ‘Flung Out of Their Seats’ in Severe Turbulence: ‘Something from a Horror Movie’

Passengers on a Ryanair flight were reportedly left injured after severe turbulence led to extreme conditions inside the plane.

On Sunday, Dec. 28, the Ryanair flight was traveling from Birmingham, England, to Tenerife, Spain, when it was forced to turn back after hitting strong winds, according to U.K. newspaper Independent, Birmingham Live and Daily Express.

The flight departed from Birmingham at 3:05 p.m. before climbing 37,000 feet, per Independent. However, after 40 minutes, the pilot turned back to Birmingham after issuing the 7700 squawk emergency code over the French coast, Daily Express reported.

A woman who was on the plane claimed that people were “flung out of their seat” during the incident, which consisted of the plane suddenly jerking, according to Birmingham Live.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The 33-year-old, who asked not to be identified, added that it was “like something from a horror movie.”

“We were smooth cruising then out of nowhere, all of a sudden, the plane jerked to the left extremely quickly and then to the right, it felt like a loss of control, and then we plummeted down and we were flung out of our seats,” the passenger said, per Daily Express.

“I came out physically unharmed but the mental toll this has taken it awful,” she added before stating, “The cabin crew said within their 10 years as cabin crew they’ve never experienced anything like it.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, Ryanair confirmed the aircraft had to turn back following turbulence.

“FR1121 from Birmingham to Tenerife on 28th December returned to Birmingham Airport shortly after take-off due to air turbulence,”  the statement read. “The aircraft landed normally before passengers disembarked and returned to the terminal, where a small number of passengers were provided with medical assistance. This flight continued to Tenerife at 21:06 local that same day.”

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson also told PEOPLE: “We were made aware of the aircraft returning to BHX and initiated the normal operating procedures to support Ryanair.”