Malaysia Airlines flights are seen parking at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aug. 8, 2014. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia Airlines Flight MH122, an Airbus A330-300 flying from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, was forced to divert to Alice Springs, Australia on Thursday due to "technical reasons," the airline company confirmed in a statement.

The aircraft safely landed in Alice Springs Airport at 5:48 p.m. local time (0818 GMT), more than four hours after its take-off, it said.

The Malaysian national carrier did not elaborate on the incident, but a flight path provided by flightaware.com showed that the plane turned around when it almost left the airspace over the Australian continent.

"All of a sudden a massive vibration, the whole plane was shaking," a passenger named Donna Edwards told the Australian media 9news.com.au.

She said the passengers were told by the crew to "brace for impact" but 30 minutes later they were told "it was under control."

The company said it will provide more updates as soon as more information is made available.

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