There were more than 230 passengers on board the Air India flight.

New Delhi:

Stranded passengers of an Air India flight, including children and the elderly, found themselves struggling with problems such as language problems, unintentional food and low living space in Russia's Magdan city when their plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

The Air India flight, which was operated on a Boeing 777 aircraft, had taken off from New Delhi for the US city of San Francisco with 216 passengers and 16 crew members on board when one of its engines developed a technical problem on Tuesday.

Gagan, a passenger on the flight, spoke to NDTV over the telephone, describing the situation as challenging, and said the situation was unclear, and the facilities were also inadequate.

"There are more than 230 people... There are many children and the elderly... Our bags are still on the plane... We were sent to different places by buses... Some people were sent to a school and they are lying there with mattresses on the floor... Toilet facilities are not good... There is also a problem with language... The food here is very, very different... There are too many seafood and non-vegetarian items... Some people are just eating bread and soup... The elderly are also running out of medicines..."

"Despite all the difficulties, their (Russian officials) behaviour has been good... We are lucky to be in a college hostel... We just got wi-fi about an hour ago, so that we could contact our family..."

"But the other place, where a few more passengers are present, is a school... They have just removed the benches and are lying on mattresses in the classroom... There are about 20 people in a room... I heard that they could not even make proper arrangements for food... They were given coke and bread..."

"There was an 88-year-old gentleman in the seat next to me on the flight... I don't know what people like him are going through... There is a woman who had two newborns... They really had a lot of trouble... Most of the food here is non-vegetarian... The officers here are good, but there is a language problem... We are not allowed to go out... We were told we would have taken off by this time today..."

Air India on Wednesday announced that a replacement aircraft will be sent from Mumbai to take the stranded passengers from Magdan to San Francisco. The airline also assured that all necessary assistance is being provided to the stranded passengers and they have been accommodated in local hostels and hotels.

The US State Department said it was monitoring the situation. Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said there was a possibility that US nationals were also on board the flight.

Russia's aviation authority has confirmed that it is investigating the technical condition of the plane landing at Magdan airport, and they have also allowed an alternative flight to land.