A Moscow-bound Boeing 737 operated by the Donavia airline was forced to execute a terrifying emergency landing in Rostov-on-Don on Monday after the cabin lost pressure, causing some passengers to pass out and others to get bloody noses, Interfax reported.
"The on-board alarm was triggered. The crew made the decision to land the plane urgently," an unidentified source at Rostov-on-Don Airport told the news agency.
The abortive flight left Rostov-on-Don at 2 p.m. Moscow time but made an about-turn just 20 minutes later after the crew was alerted to a technical problem in the cabin.
Although no casualties were reported, passengers spoke of dramatic scenes on board the faulty plane.
"On the falling airplane everyone was screaming, the oxygen masks fell but weren't working, blood was flowing from many people's ears and noses, some have already lost consciousness," one passenger wrote on his Facebook page.
"The captain is saying something about loss of pressure, the stewardesses are running and shouting, and you think, 'Why precisely today should I die?'" the passenger said.
The Boeing 737 — owned by the small Rostov-on-Don-based carrier Donavia — successfully landed at its point of departure at 3:15 p.m., RIA-Novosti .
Airline officials quickly made available a replacement plane to complete the journey to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.
Seventy passengers and eight crew members were aboard the Donavia flight.
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