About 10 to 15 people were injured by turbulence on a United Airlines flight between Panama City and Houston, the Houston Fire Department said.

It said in a statement three people among 10-15 injured were taken to a hospital and it did not have word on their condition.

"United Flight 1031, a Boeing 737, reported encountering severe turbulence in Mexican airspace, about 80 miles (130 km) east of Cancun," Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said in an email.

He said the aircraft landed safely at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport just after 2:30 p.m.

Officials from United Airlines and the airport were not immediately available for comment.

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