One dead after extreme turbulence during Singapore-bound flight

Passengers aboard a Singapore Airlines flight were left terrified after the plane was hit with severe turbulence, triggering an emergency landing in Bangkok.

Video footage of the incident, which occurred on Tuesday, made waves across social media, showing the terrifying scenes the passengers had to endure.

Watch here: 

According to AFP, a 73-year-old British man died and more than 70 people were injured during the incident.

An initial data analysis by the aviation tracking service Flightradar24 suggested the London-Singapore flight experienced more than one minute of extreme turbulence at around 11,300 metres (37,000 feet) over Myanmar, during which it violently rose and plunged several times.

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According to Singapore Airlines, Flight SQ321 had taken off from London's Heathrow Airport and "encountered sudden extreme turbulence" over Myanmar's Irrawaddy Basin.

The aircraft later made a sharp, controlled descent and diverted to Bangkok.

Andrew Davies, a British passenger aboard the plane, told BBC Radio 5 that the plane "suddenly dropped" and there was "very little warning".

"During the few seconds of the plane dropping, there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud," he said, adding that he helped a woman who was "screaming in agony" with a "gash on her head".

He described seeing people with head lacerations and bleeding ears: "I was covered in coffee. It was incredibly severe turbulence."

Most of the injured passengers on the flight suffered blows to the head, said the director of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, Kittipong Kittikachorn, who confirmed the age and nationality of the deceased man.

"At 3:35 pm, the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence and requesting an emergency landing," Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement.

"The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to treat all the injured."

Bangkok's Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital said a total of 71 people had been sent for treatment, six of them with severe injuries.

"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time," Singapore Airlines said.

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Of the passengers, 56 were Australians, 47 British, and 41 Singaporeans, the airline said.

"In terms of exactly what happened, it's too early to tell. But I think passengers are too casual on board commercial aircraft," US-based aerospace safety expert Anthony Brickhouse told AFP.

Singapore's transport ministry said it would send investigators to Bangkok, while the city-state's President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said “we must hope and pray" for the injured to recover.

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