One person has been killed and dozens of others injured after a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence. Over 30 more were injured, among a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew members.
Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday that one person had died and more than 30 others were injured after a flight from London to Singapore encountered “severe turbulence.”
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which was carrying a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew members, was diverted to Bangkok, Thailand, where it landed at 3.45 p.m. local time, according to an airline statement.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” it said. “Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”
It added that it was working with the Thai local authorities to provide the necessary medical assistance.
Medical assistance underway
Local emergency crews from Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital were dispatched to the airport to transfer injured people off the runway for treatment.
A spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport said that medical teams were on standby.
Singapore’s Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that the Singaporean 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 wrote.
It wasn’t clear exactly how the death and injuries occurred. A passenger who spoke to the Reuters news agency said turbulence led to those not wearing seatbelts hitting overhead cabins.
“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 told Reuters.
One of the world’s leading long-distance carriers, the last fatalities on a Singapore Airlines flight occured in October 2000 when a plane crashed on a runway during takeoff in Taiwan, killing 83 people.
