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Terrifying video shows passengers gasping for air after oxygen masks on a Rossiya Airlines plane failed during a 25,000-foot drop.
A baby can be heard screaming as the 167 passengers, including 21 children, desperately try to breathe through broken oxygen masks at the end of the five-and-a-half hour journey from Sochi.
The ‘old’ Boeing-737-800 was forced to make an emergency landing in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, as the ten-minute drop caused extreme cabin depressurization.
Five people required medical treatment as a result of the sharp drop in pressure on the Rossiya Airlines plane.
The state airline, which is part of the Aeroflot group, is now subject to a criminal investigation into the incident, state media reported.
Oxygen masks fell from the roof of the plane but when passengers tried to use them, some did not work
Passengers press their oxygen masks to their faces in an attempt to make them work better during the ten-minute emergency descent.
Passenger Andrey Saltanov, who was flying from the ski resort on the Black Sea, said the plane was “old”.
‘This is how we got to Krasnoyarsk. Cabin depressurization and emergency descent.
My ears almost popped out. The plane turned out to be old.
The orchestra player added: ‘The masks of the passengers next to me didn’t even come off.
So much for Aeroflot. Thank God we landed.
The state airline, which is part of the Aeroflot group, is now subject to a criminal investigation into the incident.
Musician Andrey Saltanov said the plane was “old” and he was very happy when the plane landed safely.
Another passenger, Yulia, said she began writing a goodbye message to her husband as the plane was rapidly descending.
“At 7:05 I woke up because my ears hurt a lot,” he said.
“I opened my eyes and the lights were already flashing, the oxygen masks fell off and there was a panic on the plane.”
She described how “the plane seemed to be falling, and we flew down at incredible speed towards the ground.” It was terrifying.
‘There was no announcement. I did not hear anything. I didn’t understand what was happening.
‘First, I took out my tablet and phone; I understood that we were still shaking and that I could fall to the ground.
I buckled up and after that I put on an oxygen mask. There was not enough oxygen. I was already starting to suffocate.
“Maybe it was a panic attack because he was so scared and couldn’t breathe normally.”
The passenger said she looked out the window to keep an eye on the plane’s progress, but said there were no announcements to tell people what was happening.
‘I took an oxygen mask, started breathing and didn’t understand what was happening.
‘I looked out the window. We were moving rapidly toward the ground, and my ears still ached.
Terrified passengers were not told why the plane was suddenly descending and some said the cabin turned “icy cold.”
A baby can be heard crying in a video of the petrifying incident. There were 21 children on board when the plane dropped 25,000 feet.
Five people required medical attention as a result of the sharp drop in pressure on the Rossiya Airlines plane
Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling but did not work for many passengers, leaving five in need of medical treatment.
‘I have already started to say goodbye to my husband, I wrote him a message and sent him a photo.
“Then the fall stopped, the plane began to fly smoothly, and they announced that we had completed an emergency descent.”
Another passenger said: “Suddenly it got freezing cold in the cabin, the masks fell off and then for about 10 minutes, there was deathly silence and a loud crash.”
‘It was hard to breathe without masks. The feelings were indescribable.
The ‘old’ Boeing-737-800 was forced to make an emergency landing in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, after severe cabin depressurization.
Five people needed medical treatment and a doctor met the plane in Krasnoyarsk, a major Siberian city, after its emergency landing.
Then, closer to the ground, the captain said that everything was in order and the emergency descent was completed. The landing itself was smooth.
The state news agency TASS said: “Three minutes before the start of the descent, an abnormal operation of the cabin pressure control sensor occurred and the crew decided to release the oxygen masks in the cabin.”
“Air investigations conducted an inspection of the scene and all the circumstances and causes of the incident are being established,” the Investigative Committee said.
“A procedural decision will be made based on the results of the investigation.”
A ‘safety rule violation’ is suspected.