Qantas sends replacement plane for stranded passengers
Posted
The passengers will be flown to Melbourne overnight. (Reuters: Handout )
Qantas has sent a replacement plane to collect more than 300 passengers stranded in the Philippines, after a jumbo jet made an emergency landing in Manila.
Less than two hours after flight QF 30 left Hong Kong this morning, the pilot sought an emergency landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport after reporting a hole in the plane's cargo section near the right wing.
The plane was en route to Melbourne from London flying at 29,000 feet when its fuselage ruptured causing the cabin to lose air pressure.
Passengers say they heard a loud bang, as oxygen masks fell and the plane rapidly descended 19,000 feet.
In a statement Qantas said engineers are on the way to Manila to investigate the cause of the mid-air incident.
The airline says no passengers were hurt and they will all be flown to Melbourne overnight.
Qantas also said the 747-400 was not the one that was used to fly Pope Benedict XVI out of Australia earlier this month after his visit to Sydney.
