PASSENGERS on a flight from hell have described how severe turbulence was like being "spun around in a washing machine" with "blood everywhere".

Some travellers were convinced they were going to die fearing the Aeroflot Boeing 777 was crashing to the ground as oxygen masks were released.

More images were revealed of the aftermath of the turbulence which led to some 27 passengers suffering broken bones, concussion, cuts and bruises some 40 minutes before the tourist flight was due to land in Bangkok.

A heroine emerged from the shocking incident, a young medical student named only as Ekaterina, who treated the victims after the 15 seconds of carnage on broad the Russian plane.

Russian criminal investigators have opened a preliminary probe into the horror, interviewing all those on board to ascertain if correct procedures were followed.

Passenger Liliya Kovernikova said: "Nothing suggested we were in a dangerous situation, but suddenly the plane was thrown around three times.

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"Everybody and everything on board got spun around like being inside a washing machine."

She suffered a minor injury to her neck, but said: "Almost nobody was wearing belts.

"We were not warned to fasten seat belts.

"The majority of passengers were peacefully filling in their immigration cards at that moment, thinking about landing."

Medical student Ekaterina said: "Blood was everywhere, on armrests, on the ceiling because many hit it. "I have a medical training so of course I could not sit quietly."

The crew gave her a first aid kit and she helped injured passengers amid fears that some had broken their spines.

She said: "I told some of them not to move and to lie where they were on the floor.

"It was dangerous to lift them because obviously their spines might have been broken.

"When I finished with the first aid and nothing more could be done, we just had to wait."

Passengers claimed that when the aircraft landed in the Thai capital, there were no ambulances waiting to help the 27 wounded.

It was claimed they had to wait an hour for medical assistance.

In the event, there were broken bones – but not spines.

Hairdresser Margarita Dovgaya and her one year old daughter Viktoria are among the victims.

She said: "We were sitting near the tail. Everyone around us was in blood.

"We were so lucky to have got only severe bruises, people next to us had open bone fractures.

"We are in hospital now. All is okay, but I can't forget this horror that I saw with my own eyes, this feeling of flying from floor to ceiling when you've lost control.

"Other people are flying next to you."

At first she feared her daughter was seriously injured after being thrown against the cabin ceiling, but Xrays showed she had no broken bones.

The plane's captain Alexander Ruzov claimed the turbulence lasted 15 seconds, and that in 30 seconds he had the aircraft back on its correct path.

"The G-force period lasted for just for 15 seconds, and within the next 30 seconds the crew has made the correct decisions and brought the plane back to its usual route," he said.

"The problem was over.

"But unfortunately those passengers who were not wearing seat belts got traumatised."

Another passenger called Katya said: "The sky was clear, no single cloud….
And all of a sudden – one blow. Then another.

"People were simply hurled out of their seats. Many were thrown into the aisle."
Some on board spoke of three massive jolts to the aircraft.

Others managed to grab the back of a seat, while some fell on their fellow passengers.

And as the video footage shows, some passengers ended up on the floor of the aisles.

"Oxygen masks were thrown out and people tried to grab them," reported newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets after speaking to victims.

"It was like a hell all around – blood and shouting.

"In the first moments, people did not even try to help each other because all thought it was the end, the plane was about to crash."

A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Thailand said: "All the injured people – 27 of them, 24 Russians, 3 from Thailand – were taken to a local hospital.

"Mainly they have broken limbs, mostly arms.

"They have bumps, twists, concussion.

"Nine Russians left hospital very soon, and by Monday night, 15 Russians remained in the hospital.

"The eldest victim is 69, the youngest is just one year old.

"Four passengers are facing serious surgeries.

"They won't have to pay for medical costs.

"Employees of the embassy are with the passengers."

A diplomat added: "Four people were operated on yesterday, but doctors say a few more patients will need surgery."

Some will remain in hospital for several weeks because of the seriousness of their injuries.

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