Harrowing Time For Stranded Air India Passengers In Russia: ‘20 People On Mattresses In 1 Room’

New Delhi: Air India’s decision to send a replacement aircraft with food and essentials to ferry stranded passengers in Russia’s Magadan couldn’t have come sooner.

A total of 216 passengers and 16 crew members on board a San Francisco-bound flight from New Delhi — which had to make an emergency landing in Magadan on Tuesday due to an engine problem — have been having a tough time for close to 24 hours.

The passengers, including children and elderly, are facing multiple problems ranging from sub-standard accommodation, language barrier and different food.

“There are over 230 people. Lots of children and older people. Our bags are still in the aircraft. We were sent on buses to different locations. Some people were sent to a school and are lying on mattresses on the floor. The toilet facilities are not right. Language is a barrier. The food here is very, very different. There’s a lot of seafood and non-vegetarian stuff. Some people are just eating bread and soup. Older people running out of medicine,” a passenger named Gagan told NDTV.

He, however, said that the Russian authorities have been ‘nice’.

“We are lucky because we are in a college dorm. We just got Wi-Fi, so we have been able to get in touch with our families. But the other place, where some more passengers have been put up, is a school. They have just moved the benches and people are lying on mattresses in the classroom. There are about 20 people in one room. I heard they couldn’t arrange proper food. They were given Coke and bread,” he said.

“There was an 88-year-old gentleman next to me on the flight. I don’t know what people like him are going through. There is a lady with two infants. She had a really tough time. The food here is mostly non-veg. The authorities here are nice, but there is a language barrier. We are not allowed to move outside. We were told we would be on a flight by this time today,” Gagan said.

The passengers’ ordeal will continue for some more time as the replacement Air India flight is due to fly out of Mumbai this afternoon.