RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 31: Turbulence created by an airplane taking off from a Rio de Janeiro airport tossed a taxi into the air on Wednesday, severely injuring its driver, media reports said.

The taxi was driving along a street adjacent to the runway of Santos Dumont airport when it was rolled several times before landing on its roof. Its 60-year-old driver was thrown from the car and suffered serious head injuries.

The airport administrative agency Infraero said the driver had disregarded a red traffic light on the dangerous street, then did not heed a warning signal or urgent calls from Infraero officials.—dpa