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Terrified passengers have relived the moments when their flight dropped 26,000 feet in just 10 minutes.

The Japan Airlines Boeing 737 flight with 191 passengers and crew onboard started “plummeting violently” on Monday evening.

The aircraft, due to fly from Shanghai to Tokyo, was diverted to Osaka before making an emergency landing.

Footage shared on social media shows oxygen masks dropping from overhead compartments as anxious passengers braced for the unexpected drop.

One shaken traveller wrote: “My body is still here, but my soul hasn’t caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial.”

According to Japan’s transport ministry, an alarm on board had signalled a malfunction in the system that controls cabin pressure.

In an official statement, Japan Airlines confirmed: “On June 30, Flight JL869 experienced a malfunction with the cabin pressurisation system, accompanied by an alert indicating an abnormal cabin altitude pressure level.

“In line with emergency procedures, the aircraft descended to a safe altitude. While there was no rapid decompression, oxygen masks were deployed as a precaution.”

The airline emphasised that the descent followed standard safety protocols designed to protect both passengers and crew.

The exact cause of the pressurisation issue is still under investigation. No one on board was injured during the incident.