British man dead of likely heart attack, 30 injured after Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 hit by severe turbulence

One passenger died after a Singapore Airlines flight from London to the city state encountered severe turbulence on Monday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.

The passenger who died, a 73-year-old British man, likely suffered from a heart attack, Thai airport authorities told reporters during a press conference. They also said thirty more people were injured, of which seven are in critical condition.

The British man's wife was also admitted to the hospital, but authorities did not provide further details about her condition.

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Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager of Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, said that the plane "looks OK from the outside, but inside it's a mess", adding that most passengers he spoke to were seated with their belts on when the turbulence occurred.

The flight, SQ321, left London's Heathrow Airport at 10.38pm local time on Monday, according to media reports. After it was hit by turbulence, the pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted from Singapore's Changi Airport to Suvarnabhumi and landed at about 3.45pm on Tuesday, Singapore Airlines in a statement.

"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," Singapore Airlines wrote in a post to their official Facebook page.

Passengers from 17 different countries were aboard the flight, with the majority coming from Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.

Singapore's transport ministry said that its Transport Safety Investigation Bureau is investigating the incident, adding that it is currently in touch with its Thai counterparts and will be deploying investigators to Bangkok.

A subsequent update from the airline confirmed that 18 passengers had been hospitalised and another 12 were being treated for injuries, while the remaining passengers and cabin crew were being examined and given treatment at the airport.

The airline also said it was working with local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance and sending a team over to provide additional help.

Deaths are extremely rare in incidents of turbulence, especially during a flight at cruising altitude, Bloomberg reported. European plane maker Airbus SE reported about 240 incidents of severe turbulence between 2014 and 2018.

There have been injuries reported on 30 per cent of long-haul flights where such events occurred, and 12 per cent of short-haul flights, the report stated.

A spokesperson for Suvarnabhumi International Airport did not immediately confirm that an emergency landing had taken place, but told reporters that a medical team was on standby, according to a Reuters report.

Local emergency crews from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital were at the scene to transfer injured passengers off the runway for treatment, AFP reported.

According to data from live flight tracker FlightRadar24 seen by This Week in Asia, the Boeing 777 was cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet but suddenly pitched down to 31,000 feet over a span of about three minutes.

The plane then stayed at 31,000 feet for almost 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok in less than 30 minutes.

Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat wrote in a social media post that he was "deeply saddened" to learn about the incident, adding that officials from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport were providing support to those affected.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, president of the city state, expressed his "deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased".

"We do not have the details of those affected, but know that the government ministries and agencies, as well as SIA, are doing their utmost to support all those affected and working with the authorities in Bangkok, where the plane had been diverted to," Shanmugaratnam wrote in a post to his Facebook page.

Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents, according to the Aviation Safety Network, a database that provides information on airline safety issues and accidents.

The last time a Singapore Airlines accident resulted in fatalities was in October 2000, when a plane crashed on a closed runway during take-off at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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