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One passenger has been killed and several others have been injured in a harrowing flight from London to Singapore after it was hit by severe turbulence.
The Singapore Airlines flight was forced to drop 6,000ft within minutes and had to carry out an emergency landing in Thailand shortly before 4pm local time.
Thai authorities confirmed that a man had died, while 18 people had been hospitalised with 12 treated for injuries.
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Images on social media have shown food strewn across the floor with ambulances lined up outside the aircraft, while one traumatised passenger said that people were launched into the ceiling.
Other images showed an air stewardess with blood over her face, while the interior of the plane can be seen with debris and oxygen masks strewn across the cabin.
Were you or anyone you know onboard this flight? Email holly.evans@independent.co.uk
The flight departed from Heathrow airport on Monday evening before hitting bad weather conditions, with Thai media reporting that 30 people have been injured.
“Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight 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.”
In a statement on Facebook, the airline said: “We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.
“Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft. We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.”
The flight had been due to arrive at the Singapore Changi airport at 6.10pm local time, but encountered clear air turbulence over the Bay of Bengal, just south of the southern tip of Myanmar.
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 showed the flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet. Just after 8am GMT, the Boeing 777 suddenly and sharply pitched down to 31,000 feet over the span of some three minutes, the data shows.
Thai authorities have despatched ambulances and emergency teams to the airport, while images on social media show medical personnel surrounding the plane.
Thai immigration police said medical personnel had boarded the plane to assess injuries but could not confirm the number, while uninjured passengers had disembarked.
Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the government would provide assistance to the passengers and their families.
“I am deeply saddened to learn about the incident onboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore,” he posted in a statement on Facebook.
The region is currently experiencing extreme tropical thunderstorms, causing it to land at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
Turbulence-related accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Between 2009 through to 2018, the agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.
Singapore Airlines has consistently held an excellent safety record and is recognised as one of the world’s leading airlines. The only Singapore Airlines accident to result in fatalities involved a Boeing 747 “Jumbo jet” taking off from Taipei in the year 2000.
The pilots mistakenly attempted to take off from a closed runway, and collided with construction equipment. Of the 179 passengers and crew on board, 83 died and 96 survived.
Two British Airways cabin crew suffered broken legs when a flight from Singapore to Heathrow was affected by severe turbulence over the Bay of Bengal on June 28 last year.
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