One person died and 23 others were injured when a flight from London to Singapore hit severe turbulence.
Airport officials in Bangkok say the victim who died was a 73-year-old British man who likely suffered a heart attack. He was identified as Geoffrey Kitchen, a musical theatre director who was traveling with his wife, the Times of London reported.
Seven of the passengers reportedly suffered critical injuries.
Singapore Airlines says flight SQ321 was headed from Heathrow on Monday when it encountered the turbulence.
The airline says the Boeing 777-300ER diverted to Bangkok and landed about 3:45 p.m. local time at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-312(ER) aircraft (9V-SWM) operating flight SQ321 from London (LHR) to Singapore (SIN) hit an air pocket and made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok (BKK) at 3:34 pm today. Initial reports indicate 20 people were injured.… pic.twitter.com/G4TH7Vs2xX
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) May 21, 2024
"Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased," the company said in a statement on social media. It added that it was working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance to passengers. They were also sending a team to Bangkok to assist. No other details were immediately available.
Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 2024.
— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) May 21, 2024
We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on…
