A couple from Oxford were among 300 passengers on board a plane which suddenly plunged hundreds of feet during a flight to Australia.

A dozen people were seriously injured, while another 60 required treatment for minor injuries after the incident, which happened while the aircraft was flying at 37,000ft.

The plane abruptly dropped nose down, scattering people all over the cabin as the Qantas Airbus A330, carrying 300 passengers, flew over Western Australia on Tuesday.

Doreen and Henry Bishop said the moment was "one of the worst experiences of their lives".

They were travelling from London to Perth, via Singapore, to visit their daughter and grandson.

Mrs Bishop said: "I feared for my life when the plane dropped. It just fell hundreds of feet. I don't know how many, but it just fell forever and there were people flying everywhere. It was frightening."

Mr Bishop said: "Unfortunately, some people were walking back to their seats as it happened and they were the ones who were injured.

"The captain was brilliant to get us down and take control the way he did. The cabin crew were absolutely marvellous. People were screaming, but they cut off any panic which might have started.

"Word spread among passengers that the plane had plunged more than 2,000 metres in a number of seconds."

Although shaken by the incident, he added: " I put it down to life. The Titanic hit an iceberg. We hit an air pocket."

The plane made an emergency landing at a Royal Australian Air Force base at Learmonth, in the north-west of Australia.

The most seriously injured passengers were taken by air ambulances to hospital in Perth.

Accident investigators are examining the plane's data recorders but said that they would not release a preliminary report into the incident for about four weeks.