Plane passengers have lucky escape

Plane passengers have lucky escape

HANOI (Reuters): More than 160 passengers on a domestic flight in Vietnam had a lucky escape over the weekend after their aircraft encountered severe turbulence and was forced to make an unscheduled landing, official media reported.

Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan (People) said on Tuesday that passengers, including senior National Assembly members and some senior officials of ministries, "applauded and hugged each other" when the Airbus A320 touched down in the central city of Danang just as its fuel was running out.

At one point the aircraft, which had been supposed to land in Hanoi after a delayed takeoff from Ho Chi Minh City, suddenly plunged 100 meters, its fuselage shaking and its engines roaring, the paper said.

An official of the state-run airline said the Airbus met turbulence caused by a storm as it was approaching Hanoi at about 8:45 p.m on Sunday.