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Twenty passengers injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow Airport was hit by severe turbulence remain in intensive care, including six Britons, a hospital in Bangkok has said.
Singapore’s prime minister has promised a “thorough investigation” after a British man died and 79 passengers and six crew members were injured during the inciddent on Monday.
The passenger who died has been named as 73-year-old Geoffrey Kitchen, who suffered a suspected heart attack on the flight according to a spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where the plane was diverted.
On Wedndesday, Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where most of the injured were taken, said 20 people were being treated in intensive care. They included six Britons.
According to Singapore Airlines, the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure and the pilot declared a medical emergency, with flight tracking data showing the plane plummeted 6,000 feet in a matter of minutes.
Singapore Airlines’ chief executive has issued a video apology to all the passengers on board. “We are very sorry for the traumatic experience that everyone on board SQ321 went through,” Goh Choon Phong said.
Were you on the flight? Email alexander.ross@independent.co.uk
The situation inside the plane was ‘sheer terror'
Passenger Beverley Mayers, who was not injured, described the situation inside the plane as “sheer terror.”
“The whole plane was shuddering ... great pieces were falling off and dropping on the floor, people getting hit in the head,” she told Australia’s TV Channel 9 on arrival at Sydney airport.
Passengers speaking to the media
Today, reporters have been stationed outside hospitals in Bangkok waiting to speak to passengers who were on the flight.
‘Ever single cabin crew person I saw was injured'
British passenger Andrew Davies told Sky News that the seatbelt sign had come on just before the turbulence, but crew members didn’t have time to take their seats.
“Every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head,” Davies said. “One had a bad back, who was in obvious pain.”
Crew have been ‘amazing'
Among the distress over the experience faced by people on the Singapore Airlines flight, there has been some praise for crew members.
Passenger Josh Silverstone said the crew had been “amazing” and the pilot “did well” to land the plane in such difficult conditions.
Another passenger, Andrew Davies, wrote on X: “Singapore Airlines couldn’t have been more accommodating. Very impressed. Thoughts with others worse off than me. Ultimately- I am just a delayed business passenger.”
‘It was a very, very traumatic experience'
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 showed Tuesday’s flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,300 meters). At one point, the Boeing 777-300ER suddenly and sharply descended to 31,000 feet (9,400 meters) over about three minutes, according to the data.
The aircraft then stayed at 31,000 feet for under 10 minutes before diverting and landing in Bangkok less than a half-hour later.
Newlyweds Ali and Ramiza Bukhari, who were flying back from their honeymoon, told reporters at Sydney Airport late Wednesday that they were relieved to be back in Australia. “It was a very, very traumatic experience. It’s hard for me to describe into words. No one expects that really, you know,” Ali Bukhari said.
‘I am lucky to be able to walk'
Josh Silverstone, 24 from south London, woke up on the floor of the plane.
“I (...) didn’t realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding,” he said as he left the hospital on Wednesday evening after being treated.
He had a cut on his eye.
He had been heading to Singapore for a holiday before meeting friends in Bali. He said he still hoped to make it to the Indonesian island.
Many passengers in the hospital still being treated had spinal injuries.
“I am lucky to be able to walk,” he said.
UK Civil Aviation Authority statement
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Our deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected.
“Accidents of this nature are extremely rare and aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel.”
Aviation consultant says such incidents are ‘limited'
Aviation consultant John Strickland said that “turbulence happens” but, even with millions of flights each year, incidents are “limited” and “fatalities are rare”.
He said: “Exposure is greater in different parts of the world.
“The South Atlantic, Africa and the Bay of Bengal are all places that spring to mind where there’s a greater incidence.
“There are discussions about whether climate change is influencing an increase in occurrences.”
‘He was the most wonderful human being'
Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow.
Lizzie Atkins, a friend of Mr Kitchen, said he and his wife had been planning to go on a cruise in Indonesia before travelling to Australia, describing the pair as “adventurous travellers”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I just can’t believe that I’m having to do this. He was the most wonderful human being that you could ever know, really one of the top ones – he was stable and reliable and you always knew you were in safe hands with Geoff. He was just a remarkable man, really.
“He had a really dry sense of humour and he had a twinkle in his eye. Every time you saw him you just knew he was going to make a funny joke.”
Geoffrey Kitchen ‘died from suspected heart attack'
As reported, Geoffrey Kitchen, aged 73, from Thornbury near Bristol, died on the flight as it was hit by severe turbulence.
Mr Kitchen formerly worked in the insurance industry, and in retirement was continuing his decades-long involvement with amateur theatre.
On Wednesday, a Thai airport official said Kitchen might have had a heart attack, though that hadn’t been confirmed.
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2024-05-22 17:29:57Z
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