Singapore Airlines flight faces ‘severe turbulence’: 73-yr-old British man dies, seven people critically injured

The Singapore Airlines flight which made an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday had fallen into an air pocket in Thai airspace before it encountered severe turbulence. A 73-year-old British man was killed in the incident and seven others were critically injured, according to a senior airport official.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport general manager, Kittipong Kittikachorn, said the man died during the incident, likely from a heart attack. Additionally, seven people sustained critical head injuries, and one crew member was hospitalised.

“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight,” the airline said. It added that its is working with Thai authorities to provide all necessary assistance.

As per the Suvarnabhumi airport, the aircraft placed in a request for an emergency landing at 3:35pm local time and landed at 3:51. The airline said it landed at 3:45.

How many passengers were on board?

The aircraft was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members. The flight was headed to Singapore when it had to make an emergency landing and was diverted to Bangkok.

A spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport said that a medical team was on standby at the airport. 

“Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft,” the airline said.

“We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance.”

What happened on Singapore Airlines?

A passenger told Reuters that due to the turbulence, the passengers who were not wearing their seatbelts hit the overhead cabins.

After approximately 11 hours of flying time from takeoff in London, the aircraft sharply descended from an altitude of around 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet within just five minutes as it completed its traverse of the Andaman Sea and approached Thailand, according to FlightRadar24 data.

A 28-year-old student told Reuters that the aircraft started tilting up suddenly post which there was shaking. “Very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” Dzafran Azmir said.

“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it,” he said.

(With Reuters inputs)