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Passengers aboard a British Airways flight were stricken with fear after hearing a false announcement warning them their flight to Hong Kong from London was going to crash.

As the flight flew over the North Sea on August, 24 passengers heard this message echo through the cabin: “This is an emergency. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water.”

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Michelle Lord, 32, of Preston, Lancs, said: “People were terrified, we all thought we were going to die. They said the pilot hit the wrong button because they were so close together.” Another traveller said: “I can’t think of anything worse than being told your plane’s about to crash.”

The passengers were quickly reassured by nervous flight attendants who according to the

, “ran down the aisles reassuring the 275 passengers it was a mistake.”

British Airways officials are blaming a “computer malfunction” for the incident and apologize to passengers for any “undue distress.” The airline has since apologized

.

, a similar false announcement occurred aboard an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Paris last year.