A 73-year-old British man has died and more than 30 other people have been injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London which was hit by severe turbulence.
The Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok, making an emergency landing at 15:45 local time (08:45 GMT).
Passengers said the aircraft suddenly dropped – and people and objects were thrown around the cabin.
The flight was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, Singapore Airlines said. It offered its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased, who has yet to be named.
Authorities in Bangkok say the man probably died of a heart attack. His wife has been admitted to hospital, but her condition is unknown.
“I was covered in coffee,” Andrew from London told BBC Radio 5 Live. “During the few seconds of the plane dropping, there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud.”
He said once the turbulence had settled, he was able to help a woman “screaming in agony” who had a “gash on her head”.
Passengers are being kept in a special part of the airport in Bangkok, Andrew said. “I will get on another flight, these are very rare occurrences,” he said.
Another passenger told Reuters news agency that the aircraft suddenly started “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 a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” 28-year-old student Dzafran Azmir 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.”
Reuters
ReutersAllison Barker described receiving a message from her son, Josh, which read: “I don’t want to scare you, but I’m on a crazy flight. The plane is making an emergency landing… I love you all.”
He was on his way to Bali. After that message, it was a “petrifying” two hours before Allison heard from him again.
“One minute he was just sitting down wearing a seatbelt, the next minute, he must have blacked out because he found himself on the floor with other people,” she told the BBC.
Josh, she said, sustained minor injuries – but she is concerned that coming close to death could have a lasting impact on him.
The airline said 31 people who were on board the plane had been taken to hospital.
“The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment where necessary at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.”
The statement added that the airline was working with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance to passengers, and was sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional help needed.
Thai authorities have despatched ambulances and emergency teams to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
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 on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore,” he posted in a statement on Facebook.
It is still not clear how events unfolded. Turbulence is most commonly caused by aircraft flying through cloud, but there is also “clear air” turbulence which is not visible on a jet’s weather radar.
“Injuries from severe turbulence are relatively rare in the context of millions of flights operated,” aviation expert John Strickland told the BBC.
“However, severe turbulence can be dramatic and lead to severe injuries or sadly in this case a fatality.”
Flight crews are also trained in how to respond to turbulence, he said.
“It is not for nothing that airlines recommend keeping seat belts loosely fastened throughout a flight, be it long or short,” he added.
Research has shown that climate change will make severe turbulence more likely in the future.
