One person was killed and dozens more injured when a Singapore Airlines plane encountered “severe turbulence,” plummeting some 6,000 feet before it was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday.
A total of 229 people — 211 passengers and 18 crew members — were aboard Singapore Airlines Flight 321 when the chaos occurred.
Airline officials said the Boeing 777-300ER jet departed from London’s Heathrow airport for Singapore on Monday just after 10:30 p.m. It was traveling at an altitude of 37,000 feet as it passed the western coast of Myanmar, and then suddenly plunged to 31,000 feet after about 11 hours in the air, according to flight data captured by Flightradar24.
The plane was diverted to Bangkok, where it landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday around 3:45 p.m. local time, the airline said. Emergency crews from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, located about 12 miles away from the airport, were on site to transfer injured passengers off the runway for treatment.
By Tuesday evening, emergency crews said they had transported all those injured from the airport to local medical facilities.
Video taken on the scene shows a horde of ambulances, lights flashing, approaching the airport.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the airline said. “We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.”
It’s not clear whether the person who died was part of the crew or a passenger.
With News Wire Services
