A man had to be rescued from an overhead compartment after “strong turbulence” threw passengers from their seats on an Air Europa flight on Monday.

The airline confirmed 30 of 325 passengers suffered “minor injuries” when flight UX045 from Spain to Uruguay hit turbulence over the Atlantic.

The flight was diverted to the nearest airport, which was in Brazil, to treat injured passengers, some of whom reportedly had broken bones.

In one video posted to social media, a middle-aged man had to be lifted down from the ceiling after he was seemingly hurtled metres into the air. The man’s shoes can be seen dangling from an overhead section above the luggage bins.

Fellow passengers assist him down by offering their hands as steps on which to place his feet as he’s lowered back to the seating area.

Passengers said they feared they were going to die during the terrifying ordeal and described the plane going into a frightening dive.

“The people who didn’t have seat belts went up in the air and hit the ceiling, and they got hurt – those who had seat belts on, not so much,” a passenger named Maximiliano told Reuters.

Another passenger, Stevan, said passengers suffered fractures and injuries to their arms, faces and legs.

“There are about 30 people injured. It was a pretty horrible feeling; we thought we were going to die there, but thank God it didn’t happen,” he said.

The plane’s cabin was left in disarray, with broken seats and ceiling panels popped out.

Air Europa said in a statement on X that the plane landed safely at Natal airport in Brazil and “the minor injuries that were reported are already being treated”.

“Natal was the airport that could serve passengers with medical needs the fastest,” it said.

“All people who have required health care are being treated in centres in Natal.”

In May, one passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured, including 12 Australians and one permanent resident, during turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321.

A preliminary probe revealed the worst of the injuries were caused by a sudden and dramatic 54-metre drop in just 4.6 seconds as the plane flew over Myanmar on May 21.

The flight from London to Singapore had been a normal journey until the plane began to experience “slight vibration”.

This initial turbulence, before the big drop, was likely caused by an updraft, which forced the plane up by about 110 metres, an initial report said.

To counter the rise, the autopilot kicked in and pitched the plane downwards, and the “fasten seat belt” sign was switched on.

Suddenly, the aircraft had a rapid drop in G over 0.6 seconds that “likely resulted in the occupants who were not belted up to become airborne”.

This was followed by a rise in G over four seconds, which likely resulted in passengers who were airborne to fall back down.