Chaos on packed plane as live otter and rat escape from hand luggage and bite cabin crew as passengers cower on seats

THIS the moment a huge rat and a baby otter caused chaos after they broke free on a commercial flight at 15,000ft.

The plane was headed from Thailand to Taiwan when horrified passengers spotted a giant albino rat scurrying in the aisle.

Panicked air hostesses set about searching the plane as passengers cowered in their seats.

They were shocked when they discovered a second creature crawling around on the floor.

One passenger said: "I told the cabin crew and they checked the plane.

"That's when they found the big otter under one of the seats. They kept looking for the white rat and an employee caught the rat.

"It bit them on the hand while they carried it back to the kitchen at the back of the plane."

Footage shows the chaos onboard the flight - operated by Vietnamese carrier Viet Jet - as the crew battled to catch the animals.

They found a 30cm long baby otter rolling around under a seat - which had allegedly been smuggled onboard in a woman's hand-luggage.

The cabin crew reportedly made an announcement ordering anyone who had brought animals on the plane to make themselves known.

The person filming said that several seats were searched before a Chinese passenger "asked for a refund" and allegedly admitted the animals belonged to her.

Staff then appealed for a passenger who could "speak Chinese fluently" to help them discuss the situation with the woman, who is believed to have bought the creatures from a market.

Upon arrival it turned out these were not the only creatures hitching a ride, several different species were discovered when police searched "every bag", including a box of 28 live turtles.

Officials have now launched an investigation into how the female passenger allegedly smuggled the creatures through security at the notoriously corrupt Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The creatures were seen being removed from the aircraft.

The Taoyuan Branch of the Defense Inspection Department said that the star turtles will be kept in quarantine and the rest will be sent for confirmation before disposal.

Police said the suspect was being questioned and could be fined up to £25,000 in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases.

Officers said they did not know how the animals were taken on the plane and the passenger who is believed to be responsible "has not been co-operative".