At least 46 people were injured when an EVA Air plane hit turbulence on approach to Tokyo's Narita Airport on Monday, Japanese Transport Ministry officials said.

The Taiwan carrier's Airbus A330-200, with 251 passengers and 16 crew on board, hit the turbulence about 100 km (60 miles) short of the airport, the officials said. The plane made an emergency landing at Narita.

"All of a sudden, about seven people in front of me were afloat in the air," passenger Sachiko Tatara, 48, was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.

The plane shook violently three times, said Chen Shu-li, a 32-year-old Taiwan student studying in Japan. "People were thrown to the ceiling, just like in a movie," Kyodo quoted Chen as saying.

Oxygen masks dangled from the ceiling and luggage was scattered in the cabin, passengers said. Some injured people were bleeding and young children were crying and screaming.

Officials said none of the injuries was life-threatening.