30 January 2024 , 12:51
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Dramatic footage shows the moment passengers were forced to use the evacuation slide on a plane after an emergency landing in a temperature of minus 41C in the world’s coldest city.
The fire detector alarm showed a problem linked to a power bank on a Sukhoi Superjet 100 international flight arriving in the Russian city of Yakutsk. There were 30 passengers and nine crew on board the flight from Harbin in China. People are seen in the video running in fear from the plane after using the evacuation slide as the fire service attended to the plane.
The Sukhoi Superjet had to make an emergency landing (social media; e2w news)A passenger told Vecherniy Yakutsk: "The flight attendants warned us that an emergency landing was coming. An urgent briefing was given. Everyone put their bags on the upper shelves. We bent over in our chairs into the brace position, covering our heads with our hands. We expected there to be a strong hit, but, fortunately, the pilot landed the plane very softly. The flight attendants commanded: “Get out quickly! We rolled down the evacuation slides.” Yakutsk in Siberia is the coldest city in the world and a record low temperature was recorded in the city on 5 February 1891 at -64.4C. During January, the average low temperature is -42C, with the city getting less than four hours of sunlight per day.
Smoke was detected but no fire and the passengers landed to a blistering minus 41C. A Yakutia Airlines spokesman said: “A smoke detector was activated during th3 descent today, on a Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft flying from Harbin to Yakutsk.” A Chinese-made power bank stored in luggage was blamed for the emergency. The airline continued: "The plane has been grounded until the problem is resolved. A commission of the Federal Air Transport Agency has been created to clarify the circumstances of the incident.”