Up to 40 people were injured when a passenger jet carrying more than 300 people made an emergency landing near Exmouth in West Australia following a mid-air incident Tuesday afternoon.

Sergeant Greg Lambert from the Western Australian police said the Airbus A320 owned by Australia's largest airline company Qantas landed safety at 1:35 pm WST (0535 GMT) at Learmonth Airport near Exmouth after a mayday call.

He said up to 40 people were injured during a mid-air incident but the nature of the mid-air incident is unknown, according to a report by Australian Associated Press.

Emergency services and medical staff were at the airport.

An emergency services worker said paramedics had boarded the Qantas aircraft and were tending to the injured.

Police said the plane was thought to be Qantas Flight 72 flying from Singapore to Perth.

The police spokesman said the injuries were thought to include broken bones and lacerations and there were varying reports on the number of the injured. Enditem

(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2008)