One person died and 30 more were injured after a Singapore Airlines flight from London encountered “sudden extreme turbulence,” the airline said. Photo bu Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
May 21 (UPI) — A British passenger flying Singapore Airlines died and 30 more were injured when a flight from London encountered severe turbulence Tuesday.
Singapore Airlines said the plane carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members hit “sudden extreme turbulence” at 37,000 feet in the air 10 hours into the trip from London’s Heathrow Airport to Singapore.
“The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok,” the airline said.
Officials said said 18 people were hospitalized, 12 were being treated in hospitals and remaining passengers and crew members were being examined and given treatment “where necessary” at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
Seven of the injured were listed in critical condition.
Authorities in Bangkok said the 73-year-old British man likely died of a heart attack.
Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of the Airports of Thailand, told reporters the man who died was traveling with his wife and had a heart condition.
Joji Waites, head of flight safety for the British Airlines Pilots Association, said that while pilots are trained on how to anticipate potential turbulence, those are general rules and cannot pinpoint actual outcomes and live conditions.
“It is important, therefore, for aircraft occupants to have their seatbelts fastened while seated should any unexpected encounters occur and comply promptly with ‘fasten seatbelt’ signs when asked to do so,” Waites said.