Almost 200 passengers, scrambling to get away from what they thought was a burning plane, had to stumble through the snowy expanse of the Russian Far East instead of a comfortable trip to Los Angeles.

Passengers on board a Los Angeles-bound Air China Boeing 777 were treated to an unexpected Russian adventure when a fire alarm went off in the plane's baggage section. The alarm later proved to be false, but that was little consolation for the 188 people who had to evacuate the plane into one of the bleakest landscapes imaginable.

The emergency brought them to Russia's easternmost city, Anadyr, near the Arctic Circle – one of the places that has given Russia the reputation of a land of perpetual snow and freezing cold. While not the coldest place on Earth by far, the temperature was hovering below zero, and about 20 degrees below what they were expecting to find in Los Angeles. The humid sea wind didn't help either.

It was definitely not something they were prepared for. Video of the landing shows panicked passengers frantically rushing for the emergency exits, leaving their belongings behind in what they thought was a burning baggage hold, sliding down inflatable chutes and onto the frozen tarmac. Then, they had to trudge through the snow – some of them clad in little more than t-shirts – until airport vans could pick them up and take them to the distant airport building.

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At least when indoors, the hapless travelers were cared for. Airport staff provided them with food, drink and access to medics, and placed them in the VIP waiting room – though one photo from the scene showed a passenger sleeping on the floor.

While there had been no fire, Air China erred on the side of caution and sent a replacement plane to pick up the stranded travelers.

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