Dozens injured on Ryanair Zadar flight

NEWS FLASH

Over thirty passengers were injured yesterday night on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Zadar after the Boeing 737-800 aircraft lost cabin pressure. A total of 33 passengers were hospitalised after the plane dived some 3.000 metres in less than a minute. The airline said oxygen masks were deployed and the crew carried out a "controlled descent", diverting to Hahn Airport in Germany. In a statement, the low cost carrier said, "The aircraft landed normally and customers disembarked, where a small number received medical attention as a precaution". There were a total of 189 passengers on board. Some are said to have fallen ill while others were bleeding from their ears.

On board flight FR7312 from Dublin to Zadar

Describing the incident, one of the passengers on board told the media, "We get on the plane, we're flying and next of all the oxygen mask comes down, we're left in darkness for fifteen minutes, there's no reassurance just people shouting 'emergency, emergency'. There was a newborn baby and children on the flight, people are screaming and we don't know what's going on for fifteen minutes . . . Then finally we're told that we're going to Germany". In a tweet, another passenger said they were left "abandoned" at the airport in Frankfurt. "Cutting costs and more profit for Ryanair all at the expense of customer safety", she concluded. In its statement, Ryanair said it would pay for hotels for the affected passengers but added that there was a "shortage of available accommodation". Ryanair boasts a seasonal base in Zadar and is one of the airport's busiest airlines.