Footage shows a person being lifted up on a stretcher on board the Singapore Airlines flight that suffered severe turbulence.
Worried onlookers could be seen in the video as the woman was taken away by emergency workers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport where the plane had to make an emergency landing. The commercial aircraft was on its way from Heathrow Airport to Singapore when it met the extreme conditions and reportedly plummeted.
The clip shows collapsed breathing masks and damage to the overhead luggage compartments while people appeared stunned at what had happened. Outside the plane there were several injured passengers who were taken away by ambulance. Tragically 73-year-old British man, Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen, died during the turbulence from what is believed to have been a heart attack, while his wife remains in hospital. There were around 30 people who were also injured in the incident. Around six people also remain in a critical condition in hospital.
A woman is seen being lifted up on a stretcher (Viral Press)
Emergency workers help the woman from the plane (Viral Press)Singapore Airlines said the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar ’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure, with the pilot declaring a medical emergency and diverting the plane to Bangkok. One of the passengers on board Flight SQ321 to Singapore said the plane suffered a “dramatic drop”, meaning people not wearing a seatbelt were “launched immediately into the ceiling”.
Images posted on social media also showed damage to the ceiling of the cabin, and food, cutlery and other debris strewn on the floor in the aftermath of the incident. The flight, operated by a 16-year-old Boeing 777 jet, departed at 10.17pm on Monday and was diverted to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time (9.45am BST) on Tuesday. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board – including 47 passengers from the UK.
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Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen died after turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight (Viral Press)
Passengers pictured on board the flight (X)Singapore Airlines said: “Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, operating from London Heathrow to Singapore on May 20, encountered severe turbulence en-route. We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board. Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.”
The interior of Singapore Airline flight after the emergency landing (REUTERS)In an update published on social media on Tuesday afternoon, Singapore Airlines said: “The nationalities of the passengers are as follows: 56 from Australia, two from Canada, one from Germany, three from India, two from Indonesia, one from Iceland, four from Ireland, one from Israel, 16 from Malaysia, two from Myanmar, 23 from New Zealand, five from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, one from South Korea, two from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom, and four from the United States of America.” Flightradar24 said its tracking data showed the plane encountering turbulence at approximately 8.49am BST while flying over Myanmar.
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