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A Qantas flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne made an emergency landing in the Philippines on Friday after a hole appeared in the fuselage and the cabin lost pressure suddenly.

An inspection revealed a hole in the Boeing 747-400's fuselage, and initial reports indicated that a section of the fuselage had separated in the area of the forward cargo compartment, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in a written statement.

"There was an almighty crack," one passenger said. "We dropped a bit in the air, but other than that it was fine."

"There was a big bang," said another. "I knew there was a hole somewhere, but I didn't know what was going on."

Marina Scaffidi, 39, from Melbourne, told The Associated Press: "There was wind swirling around the plane and some condensation."

She said a hole extended from the cargo hold into the passenger cabin.

Michael Rahill, 57, an architect from Melbourne, told AP the bang sounded "like a tire exploding, but more violently."

Images of the Boeing 747-400 after it landed showed a large hole where the leading edge of the wing attaches to the fuselage.

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