At least 27 people suffered "fractures and bruises" on a Boeing 777 plane when it suffered "severe turbulence" flying from Moscow to Bangkok.

The Aeroflot flight hit an air pocket on Monday, the Russian embassy in Thailand confirmed in a statement.

Of the injured, 24 were Russian nationals and 15 of them were taken to a Bangkok hospital for treatment, it added. The other three injured were from Thailand.

Three Russians have undergone operations lasting several hours, Russian RIA news agency reported, citing a Russian diplomat in Bangkok.

The diplomat cited doctors who say their lives were not in danger.

Aeroflot also dismissed some media reports about spine injuries.

The Russian airline said in an earlier statement that several passengers had been injured during "severe turbulence" 40 minutes before landing in the Thai capital.

It said the crew could not warn passengers of the danger because the turbulence occurred in a clear sky.

The embassy said: "All the injured were sent to a local hospital with injuriesof a different kind of severity, mainly fractures and bruises.

"The reasons behind the injures was that some of the passengers had not had their seat belts fastened."