Ryanair plane drops 8,000m

Terrified passengers have told how they feared for their lives as their Ryanair aircraft fell 8,000 metres following a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen masks dropped down. Twenty-six people were hospitalised with minor eardrum problems after the Boeing 737 they were travelling on from Britain to Spain made an unscheduled landing in France.

The plane, which had departed Bristol last night bound for Barcelona-Girona airport, was forced to land at Limoges International Airport as a "safety precaution", Ryanair said.

Among those on the flight was the arctic explorer Pen Hadow and his family. "I would say some people thought we were going to die - that is how frightening it was," he said. "The woman sitting in the seats in front of us was whimpering."