JAKARTA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen Chinese nationals were injured on Saturday when a Hong Kong Airlines flight hit severe turbulence over Borneo Island after taking off from Bali Island of Indonesia, an official said.

The incident occurred about one hour after the Hong Kong-bound flight HX6704 took off from Bali international airport, forcing it to return to the airport, Herni Pramuharjo, spokesman of the transport ministry said.

"Twelve people were rushed to a hospital, one of them got very serious injury. Five others were only treated at the health clinic in the airport. All of them (17 people) are Chinese nationals," he told Xinhua by phone.

The extreme weather forced Hong Kong-bound Flight CRK 6704 carrying 204 passengers and 12 crew to return to Denpasar.

"Seventeen people were injured, 12 must be admitted to a hospital for further treatment while five others were treated in the airport clinic and have been released," Trikora Harjo, general manager of Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, told AFP.

Most of the passengers suffered bruises but were conscious and able to walk, he added.

The Airbus A330-200 was not seriously damaged and has been parked at the airport for further investigation, Harjo said.

It was the second turbulence incident involving an Airbus 300-200 in Indonesia this week.