A Los Angeles-bound Air China jet carrying almost 200 passengers had to make an emergency landing in Russia’s easternmost town of Anadyr amid fears of a fire in the luggage compartment of the plane. The passengers and crew had to use emergency inflatable chutes to safely exit the plane, with outside thermometers showing —6C combined with gusts of icy winds.
READ MORE: Norway Beefs Up Arctic Defences at Russia's Doorstep
Having found themselves stranded in the tiny Arctic town, home to just 15,500 people, passengers started posting pictures and videos of themselves struggling in panic through massive snowbanks wearing nothing but T-shirts to reach the airport building.
“They planned dinner in Hollywood but instead founded themselves stuck on the floor in one of the bleakest towns in the world”, said one comment on the Chinese social network Weibo, alongside a picture showing one of the passengers resting right on the airport floor.
Although everyone was safely evacuated, sustaining no injuries, doctors were, however, on the spot, ready to provide assistance. According to Deputy Governor Leonid Nikolayev, cited by Russian media, all the passengers were accommodated in the international flight zone and the airport VIP hall, as well as supplied with food and refreshments.
Hotel rooms were also provided during the wait for a back-up plane, which was sent from Beijing amid concerns of faults in the original one.
