A Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency stop after hitting severe turbulence with passengers left injured.

Footage showed damage on the Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo which was diverted to a Brazilian airport on Monday, July 1.

Flight UX045 made an emergency landing at the Natal Airport in northeastern Brazil at 2.32am local time, according to local airport operator Zurich Airport Brasil.

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft was flying the route, FlightRadar24 data showed.

A spokesperson from Air Europa said: "Our flight bound for Montevideo was diverted to Natal due to strong turbulence.

"The plane landed normally and those injured of varying severity are already being treated."

The health secretariat from the government of the Rio Grande do Norte state, where Natal is located, said in a statement that 30 passengers had been taken to hospitals in Natal with minor abrasions or traumas.

According to Air Europa, a second plane was set to depart from Madrid later on Monday to pick up the passengers and continue the trip to Uruguay.

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It is the latest in an ever-expanding list of issues for the Virginia-based manufacturer.

The US Justice Department will criminally charge Boeing with fraud over two fatal crashes and ask the plane maker to plead guilty or face a trial.

Boeing will have until the end of the week to respond to an offer of a plea deal from the Justice Department, sources told reporters.

Such an agreement would allow the company to escape a courtroom battle with federal prosecutors. However, it could still complicate the company's efforts to overcome an ongoing crisis sparked by the January 5 mid-flight panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines-operated flight.

In May, a Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines burst into flames during take-off.

The aircraft, travelling from Indonesia, could be seen hurtling down the runway when a jet of fire was thrown out of its right-hand-side engine.

Last month, a Virgin Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after flames were spotted coming from its engine. Witnesses reported hearing "loud bangs" as the Boeing aircraft flew over Queenstown, New Zealand.

The plane was diverted to Invercargill Airport and made an emergency landing with "no visible flames".