Terrified passengers ‘choke’ and ‘are told to start praying’ as Indian flight fills with smoke

Terrified passengers say they were left choking and were allegedly told to start praying as an Indian plane cabin filled with smoke, forcing an emergency landing.

Footage from the flight showed the thick smoke filling the cabin, with passengers saying afterwards they were struggling to breathe for 25 minutes.

The horrifying incident took place aboard flight number SG 3735, a SpiceJet aircraft that took off from Goa, India.

Footage from the flight showed the thick smoke filling the cabin (pictured), with passengers saying they were struggling to breathe for 25 minutes before the emergency landing. The horrifying incident took place aboard a SpiceJet aircraft that took off from Goa, India

One of the passengers, Vivek Vishal, claimed: ‘SpiceJet risks people’s life. We were choking for 25 minutes and even oxygen masks didn’t deploy.

‘Strict action should be taken against such a negligent airline.’

In a clip, a woman can be heard shouting: ‘Stand down’ repeatedly as beeps follow amid the smoke-filled plane.

While they’re in complete darkness, she orders those aboard to ‘bend down, stay down’ as she uses a dim torch to direct her requests.

In another clip, multiple ambulances are shown at the rain-heavy scene, as a man can be seen speaking on the phone.

Members of the crew with hi-vis jackets are spotted waiting at the side of the runway with wheelchairs in preparation for assistance.

Pictured: Footage from the flight shows people in the cabin, as seen through the thick smoke. While they’re in complete darkness, a woman orders those aboard to ‘bend down, stay down’ as she uses a dim torch to direct her requests

It’s believed at least 86 people were on board the aircraft, which had to carry out a full emergency landing due to the malfunction.

According to local reports, passengers were soon evacuated after the landing in Hyderabad, India, where the pilot informed air-traffic control about the incident.

Ground staff were allegedly asked to put all precautions into place, in a bid to avoid any further incidents.

It’s been reported that crew on board told passengers to ‘start praying’ due to the panic-inducing ordeal – but a spokesman for the airline has denied these claims.

Another passenger, Srikanth Mulupala, claimed: ‘The crew members told us to pray to God and pray for our families – it was mortifying.

‘Many of my co-passengers panicked and started shrieking.’

Pictured: In more footage after the emergency landing, multiple ambulances are shown at the rain-heavy scene

One of the passengers, who has not been named, also alleges that the crew snatched his phone and forced another passenger to delete any pictures and footage of the incident.

SpiceJet claimed that the smoke was due to the on-board air conditioning system and that their crew handled the situation as per the protocol.

However, another passenger, Anil P, claims that something went wrong in the bathroom: ‘We heard the crew talk in hushed tones after something happened and in another 20-odd minutes, the smoke was all around us.

‘We felt like choking. However, the lights were turned on and the crew asked us not to leave our seats and stop talking.’

The airline is already facing disciplinary action by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) due to eight recent aircraft-related incidents.

Now, the DGCA has extended the 50 percent cap on SpiceJet flights.

MailOnline has contacted SpiceJet for comment.