A flight bound for Mallorca experienced extreme turbulence on Sunday as it approached the Spanish island, which was hit by a severe storm, chilling video shows after a P&O Cruises ship with Britons on board crashed into a cargo ship.
The mid-air ordeal left passengers fearing for their lives as the plane flew from Alicante in southern Spain to the Balearic island in the Mediterranean.
Estela Orts, a dancer and acrobat known for her performances in Magaluf’s famous pirate show, posted a video of the flight on Instagram.
Footage showed the plane shaking violently while her terrified fellow passengers clung to their seats. Orts wrote that she feared ‘THIS IS IT’ when the plane shook and crashed – causing people to scream, cry and throw up in what felt like an ‘eternal’ moment.
Areas in north-eastern Spain and Mallorca were hit by 120km/h winds and torrential rain over the weekend, forcing some families to run for their lives and others stranded on the island as flights were cancelled.
A flight bound for Mallorca experienced extreme turbulence on Sunday as it approached the Spanish island, which was hit by a severe storm, chilling video shows (pictured). In the video, a woman can be seen clinging to the seat in front of her as the plane rocks back and forth. Others can be heard screaming and crying
A small number of people were injured in a “weather-related incident” involving the P&O Cruises Britannia ship moored on the Spanish island, while on the mainland people had to be rescued from their cars in flood waters.
Port authorities in the capital, Palma, said the ship collided with a petrol tanker because of strong winds. The BBC said it broke free of its moorings during a storm.
Similar horrific scenes took place in the air, as Orts’ video shows.
In a lengthy post on her social media, the acrobat wrote that she was “BORN AGAIN” after the experience on the plane, while also thanking the pilot for coping with what she said was an “80 mph crosswind” that was causing the crash prevented her from landing.
“Now I’m calmer… TODAY I WAS BORN AGAIN.” I hope the pilot of the plane is reading this: THANK YOU, thank you for what you did today, you didn’t have to apologize to us, the minutes felt like one Eternity, but in the end it was just a terror. “It was the first time in my life that I thought, THIS IS IT,” she wrote.
The Spaniard explained that she was flying back to Mallorca from Alicante after visiting family when the turmoil hit.
She said the flight was delayed due to the weather but eventually took off.
As they took off, she wrote, she and her fellow passengers experienced some turbulence and the takeoff felt “strange” but normal.
“I had already written to my family (who were a bit scared) because they saw the storm on the news,” Orts wrote. It soon got worse.
In footage posted by the Spanish acrobat, something resembling a piece of clothing can be seen hanging out of the overhead lockers
Estela Orts (pictured), a dancer and acrobat known for her performances in Magaluf’s famous pirate show, posted a video of the flight on Instagram
‘[Then] “IT HAPPENED,” she told her Instagram followers. The plane began to fall. People and children were screaming, since I was sick I couldn’t help but cry. I don’t know how long that moment lasted, but it felt like forever.”
“Until the pilot was able to stabilize the plane, it was like a roller coaster ride.” “No one said anything about what was happening over the loudspeaker, even as it stabilized,” she recalls.
“Some time passed and the pilot explained why he wasn’t speaking and it seems logical to me why: 130 km/h crosswind.
“We tried to land but we didn’t succeed, two laps around the island and it was impossible to descend, suddenly we couldn’t see the island and started to climb.”
“The pilot decided that the best option was to return to Alicante.” 10:30 am we took off, 12:36 pm we landed (normally the flight is 40 minutes).’
Despite the chaos, as the camera pans around, a young passenger can be seen sitting behind Orts grinning and laughing – seemingly unfazed by the turbulence
Following her message, Orts shared a video clip from the plane. You can see the plane bouncing and rattling, you can hear passengers screaming.
A lady is clinging to the seat in front of her while what appears to be a piece of clothing hangs from the luggage compartment.
Despite the chaos, as the camera pans around, a young passenger can be seen sitting behind Orts grinning and laughing – seemingly unfazed by the turbulence.
According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, Orts is currently back in Alicante awaiting a flight to Mallorca on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, separate footage showed the P&O Cruises Britannia ship battered by strong winds on Sunday.
A spokesman for the company confirmed the incident.
“P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather related incident on board Palma de Mallorca. “A small number of people suffered minor injuries and are being treated by the onboard medical center,” they said.
“To allow our technical teams to make an assessment, Britannia will remain on board in Palma de Mallorca tonight and plan entertainment and activities on board.”
According to the company’s website, the Britannia, which entered service in 2015, is 330 meters long and weighs 143,000 tonnes. It has 13 guest decks and an operational capacity of 3,647 guests and 1,350 crew members.
A “small number” of people are also being treated for “minor injuries” after a P&O cruise ship (pictured) broke free of the dock during the storm and collided with a cargo ship
The footage came after a British couple described running for their lives with two children and a baby in a pushchair as winds of 120km/h and torrential rain hit Mallorca over the weekend.
Jessica Gorman and fiancé Scott, who got engaged the day before the island’s terrible storms hit, said what had started as a lovely family stroll to the Old Town Market in Puerto Pollensa “soon turned into chaos”.
Ms Gorman, who is from Reigate, Surrey, told Web how she had to brave hurricane-force winds with her three-month-old baby Ritchie, her five-year-old son Roman and her seven-year-old boy Piers because there were no taxis nearby.
“We actually had to run as fast as we could to our hotel for half an hour,” she said. “The streets were empty, there were no cars, it was like a ghost town.” The children were screaming and we were concerned that the baby was obviously still young.
“It was so windy I felt like the stroller was swaying from side to side… it was awful.”
Vacationers also shared footage of tourists taking shelter as deckchairs flew over pools and beaches on the island in what is usually associated with sweltering August heat and sunshine.
Strict warnings were issued in the holiday hotspots of Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera on Sunday as hotel resorts became unrecognizable after heavy winds, rain and hail.
Palm trees toppled and flying debris was hurled across the resorts, while motorists also struggled to navigate through flooded roads and poor visibility.
Debris flew through the air in Mallorca on Sunday, forcing holidaymakers to flee for cover
The violent storms hit the island around 11 a.m. and there were 84 incidents within an hour
Footage shared with Web showed parts of the island being torn apart by the wind
A woman sprints for cover as chairs behind her are blown away by the wind in Mallorca on Sunday
Stunned holidaymakers have shared footage of tourists seeking shelter as sun loungers were blown into swimming pools by the fierce winds
More than 100 flights in Palma, Ibiza and Menorca have been canceled or diverted due to strong winds and rain. Families told Web they were stuck at airports.
The 112 emergency line in the Balearic Islands reported 84 storm-related incidents within an hour on Sunday, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
The newspaper also reported that a pregnant woman was taken to a health center in Calvia after being injured by a falling sign, while in Illetes two children had to be rescued with an air mattress.
There was a yellow warning across Mallorca until midnight on Sunday, as heavy rain and hail swept across the island due to hurricane-force winds.