MIAMI -- More than two dozen people were hurt when a Houston-bound flight from Rio de Janerio hit turbulence, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

Continental Airlines flight 128 made an emergency landing in Miami at about 5:30 a.m., about an hour after the plane hit severe turbulence.

Airline officials said 14 passengers were taken to local hospitals. Approximately 26 passengers were injured.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Elkin Sierra said four people suffered serious injuries.

Many of the passengers complained of head, neck and back injuries.

Some of the passengers hit the overhead luggage compartments and broke through the plastic.

"The lighting and all -- where the masks come down, if they weren't seatbelted in, (people) flew up and hit the ceilings. Their faces, their heads, hit the plastics and broke all the plastics up at the top," passenger John Norwood said. "It happened like this (snapping his finger)."

"All of a sudden, (the plane) came down and everybody bumped heads against (ceiling) twice cause it came down again," another passenger said. "Terrifying -- in one fraction of a second."

The flight had 168 passengers and 11 crew members on board the 767-200 aircraft. The seat belt signs on the plane were illuminated at the time of the incident, officials said.

Miami International Airport spokesman Marc Henderson said those not seriously injured were flown on to Houston.

Rosana Nichols' 13-year-old son was on board the flight. She was at George Bush Intercontinental Airport early Monday to await his return.

"He called and I was like, 'What are you doing in Miami?'" Nichols said. "He said, 'How do you know I'm in Miami?' I was like, 'Because I saw.' He said, 'Mother, I'm OK, but the plane almost crashed.'"

Nichols said her son was asleep when the plane hit turbulence.

"He said it (the plane) started shaking very strong and everybody started moving out of the seats," Nichols said. "He bumped his head, but he's OK."

Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about six hours into the flight when he felt the aircraft suddenly drop.

"People didn't have time to do anything," he said.

Ottolini said flight attendants were serving items in the aisles when the turbulence hit. He said some flight attendants were thrown against the roof of the cabin and may have been among those injured.

Carolina Portella, 18, was on the flight and headed to college in San Francisco. She said the plane hit a little turbulence and then suddenly dropped severely. The oxygen masks popped out.

"The plane just dropped," she said. "I just grabbed the hand of the person next to me and held on."

The rest of the flight, she said, was smooth.

Henderson said the plane was scheduled to return to Houston, though he did not know what time. The uninjured passengers remained on the plane nearly three hours after landing.

"If they get off, they have to be cleared," Henderson said. "I am not aware that they have been cleared off the plane."

Family members of passengers who need to contact Continental Airlines may call:

Houston: 713-589-4073
U.S. Toll Free: 800-321-3263
Brazil: 0800-891-5257