At least 25 hurt in turbulence aboard United flight

DENVER (Reuters) - A wide-body United Airlines jet shaken by severe turbulence was diverted on Tuesday to Denver International Airport with at least 25 people injured on board, officials said.

United Flight 967 hit the turbulence over Kansas after taking off from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., en route to Los Angeles, Federal Aviation Administration and airline officials said.

"There were storms in the area," United spokeswoman Jean Medina told Reuters.

The flight crew "immediately diverted the aircraft to Denver to get medical attention as quickly as possible for those who are injured," she said.

Medina said 255 passengers and 10 crew members were on board the plane, a twin-engine Boeing 777.

Eric Tade, a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department, said the plane landed safety shortly after 7 p.m. local time and that about 30 people were injured, one of them seriously.

Medina said she knew of 25 people taken to hospital but did not know the nature and extent of their injuries.

The plane was not damaged by the turbulence, officials said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Bohan and John O'Callaghan)