Southwest Airlines flight diverted to Denver over 'pressurization': media

A Southwest Airlines jet waits on the tarmac at Denver International Airport in Denver in this file photo taken on January 22, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

(Reuters) - A Southwest Airlines flight en route to Milwaukee from Las Vegas had to divert to Denver on Friday night due to a "pressurization issue," local broadcaster FOX31 reported. The airline said in a statement to FOX31 that the plane, which was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, landed safely at Denver International Airport around 8:30 p.m. local time. One person was injured after falling during the deplaning process, FOX31 said. The diversion was blamed on a "pressurization issue," though the statement did not elaborate on the problem. Passenger Dean Fox told the broadcaster that the episode was scary, but the crew remained calm. "The (oxygen) masks did not deploy. Only a few (passengers) had reactions to the rapid pressure change," he told the station. A Southwest Airlines representative could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco, editing by Mark Heinrich)