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Passengers on a flight in Mexico were left terrified after a loose 3ft snake appeared on their plane.

The serpent slid out from behind an overhead luggage locker before dropping down into the cabin.

The plane was given a priority landing as frightened travellers quickly unbuckled their seatbelts to escape from the snake.

It was eventually trapped with blankets provided by the flight attendants. When the plane landed animal control workers rushed on board to capture the reptile.

The scene – which could have come straight out of action thriller film Snakes on a Plane – happened on an Aeromexico flight from the north of the country into Mexico City.

The slithering creature was captured on video by passenger Indalecio Medina, who said he was reading a magazine when the passenger next to him saw it.

Mr Medina, who said the snake was about 3ft or 1 metre long, said: “It was a frightening situation ... but people remained calm because it didn’t get out of that space and nobody became hysterical.

“Some people got up to see what kind of reptile it was, but nobody got carried away.”

A statement from airline carrier Aeromexico said they are investigating how the snake got into the cabin and would take measures to keep such an incident from happening again.