At least twenty passengers, including Filipinos, were in intensive care in some hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday after a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence earlier this week.
The flight from London bound for Singapore fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast before it encountered turbulence, prompting the pilots to request an emergency landing, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn told a press conference.
The sudden turbulence occurred over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar about 10 hours into the flight, the airline said. The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok, it said without giving further details.
The incident caused the death of an elderly passenger and more than 100 people injured.
In an earlier statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that five Filipinos were onboard flight SQ Flight 321, according to information received from the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to DFA Spokesperson Asec. Ma. Teresita Daza, “the Filipinos are now in the hospital and the Embassy is currently in touch with the Filipinos.”
No information on the identities of the five Filipino passengers was shared for privacy reasons.
In a report from REUTERS, photographs from the interior of the plane showed large gashes in the overhead cabin panels, gas masks and panels hanging from the ceiling, and items of hand luggage strewn around. A passenger said some people's heads had slammed into the lights above the seats and punctured the panels.
"I saw things lying everywhere and many aircrew injured" with bruising, Kittikachorn said after the most critically injured passengers and crew had been evacuated.
A 73-year-old British man died during the incident, likely due to a heart attack, Kittikachorn said. Seven people were critically injured, some with head injuries. He added people were calm as they were led from the plane.
"Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. We deeply apologize for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight," the airline said.
