A 73-year-old British man died and seven others were seriously injured after a plane encountered severe turbulence during a flight from London to Singapore, officials said on Tuesday.
The airline said that the plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, operated by Singapore Airlines, was diverted to Bangkok. In an advertisement on social mediaIt landed at 3:45 pm local time on Tuesday.
A total of 30 people, including passengers and crew, were injured, officials said. The airline said in a statement that 18 people were taken to hospital, while 12 others were being treated for injuries. “The remaining passengers and crew members are being examined and receiving treatment as necessary at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport,” the airline said.
Kittipong Kittikachorn, director of Bangkok Airport, said that the man died on board the plane, without explaining the cause of death. The man’s wife was injured and taken to hospital. Kittipong said.
The flight, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, left Heathrow Airport on Monday. The exact number of infected people on board the plane is still under investigation, according to a statement issued by Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The airport said emergency workers took the injured to hospitals and set up a holding area for people who were unharmed from the flight.
The average journey time for this route is just under 13 hours. Mr. Kittipong said in a press conference that he boarded the plane after it landed and described the scene as “a state of chaos.”
Flight SQ321 took off from London Heathrow Airport at 10:38pm local time on Monday. Data on Flight Radar 24, a website that collects general information about flights, It seems to appear After about 11 hours, I went from an altitude of 37,000 feet to an altitude of about 31,000 feet in just minutes.
He added that about 100 unharmed passengers would be flown to Singapore on Tuesday. Kittipong said. He described them as being in a state of shock.
It is unclear what caused this incident. As the plane was traveling through Myanmar, satellite data showed that a strong storm began to form and spread into the highlands, indicating that the atmosphere in the region was becoming unstable. The plane was also heading towards other storms developing along the Myanmar coast.
Deaths from the disorder are rare. Between 2009 and 2021, 146 passengers and crew members were seriously injured due to air turbulence, according to statistics. Data from the Federal Aviation Administration. In December 2022, 11 people were seriously injured after turbulence on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. In March 2023, a passenger on a business jet was killed when the plane encountered “severe turbulence.”
Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Minister of Transport, said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the accident.”
Singapore Airlines offered its condolences to the family of the person who died on board, and added: “We deeply apologize for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members endured on this flight.”
Judson Jones Contributed to reports.
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