Singapore Airlines flight from London hit by severe turbulence, one fatality

Dhaka: One person died while several others were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore was hit by severe turbulence on May 21.

Flight SQ321 operated by a Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand’s Bangkok, where it made an emergency landing at 3:45 pm local time.

The flight “encountered severe turbulence enroute”, said Singapore Airlines in a statement on its social media page.

“We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER,” the statement read.

Four hours after the emergency landing, 18 people remained hospitalised while another 12 were being treated on an outpatient basis, added the statement.

“The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment, where necessary,” it also mentioned.

There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members in total on board.

The passenger who died during the incident likely over cardiac arrest was a 73-year-old British man, said Kittipong Kittikachorn, General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, to the media.

Medical staff gather near ambulances at Suvarnabhumi Airport’s fire station

Seven people were critically injured, some with head injuries, he informed while addressing a press conference. However, he added that passengers were calm as they were led from the plane.

As per reports, Airports of Thailand group said, the lightly injured and non-injured passengers are being assisted at a specially assigned location inside the terminal at the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The government would provide assistance to the passengers and their families, said Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.

After about 11 hours of flying time, the aircraft sharply dropped from an altitude of about 37,000 feet (11,278 metres) to 31,000 feet (9,449 metres) within five minutes as it crossed the Andaman Sea and neared Thailand, according to reports.

Kittikachorn said, the flight fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast before it encountered turbulence, prompting the pilots to request an emergency landing.

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