What we know so far…
-
A 73-year-old British man, who had a heart condition, died after severe turbulence on a London to Singapore flight. He was travelling with his wife, who has been taken to hospital.
-
The Singapore Airlines flight diverted to Bangkok and made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi airport just after 15:45 local time (08:45 GMT).
-
The flight was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, Singapore Airlines said.
-
Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a âdramatic dropâ that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling.
-
The airline said 18 people were taken to hospital and a further 12 received treatment. At least 10 ambulances were deployed.
-
Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of Suvarnabhumi airport, told reporters seven people were in a critical condition at Srinakarin hospital.
-
A further 23 passengers and one crew member had less severe injuries, he said. Kittikachorn said most injuries were from cuts to the head.
-
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 ft. Just after 8am GMT, the Boeing 777 suddenly pitched down to 31,000 ft over the span of about three minutes.
Key events
We mentioned earlier that reports from airline-tracking websites suggested the flight may have dropped about 1,800 metres (5,900ft) when it flew into rough air, after traversing the Andaman Sea nearing Thailand.
A spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said with regard to data showing a drop in height: âOur initial thinking is the turbulence event is prior to the standard descent from 37,000 to 31,000 feet. That appears to just be a flight level change in preparation for landing.â
Here is a picture from inside Singapore Airlines flight SQ321:
‘There was an awful screaming’ – passenger describes the scene onboard
BBC 5 live has spoken to a passenger onboard the Singapore Airlines flight.
âI was covered in coffee,â Andrew, from London, said. âDuring the few seconds of the plane dropping there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud.â
Andrew, who said passengers were being kept in a special part of the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, added that once the turbulence had settled he helped a woman âscreaming in agonyâ who had a âgash on her headâ.
What we know so far…
-
A 73-year-old British man, who had a heart condition, died after severe turbulence on a London to Singapore flight. He was travelling with his wife, who has been taken to hospital.
-
The Singapore Airlines flight diverted to Bangkok and made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi airport just after 15:45 local time (08:45 GMT).
-
The flight was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, Singapore Airlines said.
-
Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a âdramatic dropâ that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling.
-
The airline said 18 people were taken to hospital and a further 12 received treatment. At least 10 ambulances were deployed.
-
Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of Suvarnabhumi airport, told reporters seven people were in a critical condition at Srinakarin hospital.
-
A further 23 passengers and one crew member had less severe injuries, he said. Kittikachorn said most injuries were from cuts to the head.
-
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 ft. Just after 8am GMT, the Boeing 777 suddenly pitched down to 31,000 ft over the span of about three minutes.
Rebecca Ratcliffe
Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn said:
I confirm the death toll is one person ⦠we learned he had a heart condition. The death is now to be subject to an autopsy but we think it could be caused by a heart attack. The deceased was a British national, 73 years old.
The police has taken over the case and the body will be sent to autopsy department then they will contact the embassy.
âThe incident happened during meal service, about two to three hours before the flight was due to land in Singapore,â he added.
âIt was probably during breakfast service. Most of the passenger had fastened their seatbelts â I donât know about the deceased passenger as the wife has been taken to the hospital.â
Person who died on Singapore Airlines flight was British
Rebecca Ratcliffe
The deceased passenger was a 73-year-old British man who had a heart condition, the general manager of Airports of Thailand has confirmed. He was travelling with his wife.
Kittipong Kittikachorn confirmed that one person has died. Seven people are in a critical condition, he says. A further 23 people, including some crew members, have less severe injuries.
He confirmed the cause of the incident was turbulence.
Kittikachorn said the wife of the deceased passenger is at the hospital.
âThere were lots of passengers who couldnât walk and we rescued them from the plane,â Kittikachorn added.
âIâm sorry but we will not be discussing the investigation in this press conference but I can say that the air pockets must be quite severe from looking inside the plane.â
âInvestigations are ongoing,â Kittikachorn said. âAbout 100 out of the roughly 200 passengers will be ready to travel on to Singapore tonight. They are having dinner now and Thai Airways will take them the rest of the way later.â
No further deaths on Singapore Airlines flight
Kittikachorn has confirmed that there are no further deaths apart from the one person announced earlier.
The news conference has begun.
Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of management company Airports of Thailand, said: âMost injuries are from cuts to the headâ, adding that â30 people on the flight received small injuriesâ.
A news conference is due to begin shortly. Stay here for the latest updates.
Cordelia Lynch, Sky Newâs Asia correspondent, has shared a video on X that appears to show a large dent inside the plane and the captain announcing the diversion to Bangkok.
This video appears to show damage inside the plane and the Captain announcing a diversion to Bangkok. Flight #SQ321 was travelling from London to Singapore. https://t.co/6ZJmSRGjPK
— Cordelia Lynch (@CordeliaSkyNews) May 21, 2024
