Singapore Airlines flight – latest: Turbulence leaves 20 still in intensive care as Brit who died named
Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok says it is treating 20 people in intensive car, including six Britons, after the Singapore Airlines turbulence incident
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Twenty passengers injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow Airport was hit by severe turbulence remain in intensive care, including six Britons, a hospital in Bangkok has said.
Singapore’s prime minister has promised a “thorough investigation” after a British man died and 79 passengers and six crew members were injured during the inciddent on Monday.
The passenger who died has been named as 73-year-old Geoffrey Kitchen, who suffered a suspected heart attack on the flight according to a spokesperson for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where the plane was diverted.
On Wedndesday, Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where most of the injured were taken, said 20 people were being treated in intensive care. They included six Britons.
According to Singapore Airlines, the flight encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure and the pilot declared a medical emergency, with flight tracking data showing the plane plummeted 6,000 feet in a matter of minutes.
Singapore Airlines’ chief executive has issued a video apology to all the passengers on board. “We are very sorry for the traumatic experience that everyone on board SQ321 went through,” Goh Choon Phong said.
Were you on the flight? Email alexander.ross@independent.co.uk
‘I am lucky to be able to walk'
Josh Silverstone, 24 from south London, woke up on the floor of the plane.
“I (...) didn’t realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding,” he said as he left the hospital on Wednesday evening after being treated.
He had a cut on his eye.
He had been heading to Singapore for a holiday before meeting friends in Bali. He said he still hoped to make it to the Indonesian island.
Many passengers in the hospital still being treated had spinal injuries.
“I am lucky to be able to walk,” he said.
Alex Ross22 May 2024 15:45
UK Civil Aviation Authority statement
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Our deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected.
“Accidents of this nature are extremely rare and aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel.”
Alex Ross22 May 2024 15:25
Aviation consultant says such incidents are ‘limited'
Aviation consultant John Strickland said that “turbulence happens” but, even with millions of flights each year, incidents are “limited” and “fatalities are rare”.
He said: “Exposure is greater in different parts of the world.
“The South Atlantic, Africa and the Bay of Bengal are all places that spring to mind where there’s a greater incidence.
“There are discussions about whether climate change is influencing an increase in occurrences.”
Alex Ross22 May 2024 15:10
‘He was the most wonderful human being'
Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow.
Lizzie Atkins, a friend of Mr Kitchen, said he and his wife had been planning to go on a cruise in Indonesia before travelling to Australia, describing the pair as “adventurous travellers”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I just can’t believe that I’m having to do this. He was the most wonderful human being that you could ever know, really one of the top ones – he was stable and reliable and you always knew you were in safe hands with Geoff. He was just a remarkable man, really.
“He had a really dry sense of humour and he had a twinkle in his eye. Every time you saw him you just knew he was going to make a funny joke.”
Alex Ross22 May 2024 14:52
Geoffrey Kitchen ‘died from suspected heart attack'
As reported, Geoffrey Kitchen, aged 73, from Thornbury near Bristol, died on the flight as it was hit by severe turbulence.
Mr Kitchen formerly worked in the insurance industry, and in retirement was continuing his decades-long involvement with amateur theatre.
On Wednesday, a Thai airport official said Kitchen might have had a heart attack, though that hadn’t been confirmed.
Alex Ross22 May 2024 14:00
‘Thrown to the roof and then to the floor’
More tales of the drama on board the Singapore Airlines flight are being shared today by passengers.
They include an Australian who told Sky News that the seatbelt sign had come on just ahead of the turbulence, but she could not act in time because she had been asleep. Thirty-year-old Teandra Tukhunen, speaking from a hospital with her left arm in a sling, said she had been “thrown to the roof and then to the floor.” “It was just so quick, over in a couple of seconds and then you’re just shocked. Everyone’s pretty freaked out,” she said.
Alex Ross22 May 2024 13:30
Six Britons in intensive care
Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where most of the injured were taken, said 20 people were being treated in intensive care while 27 others have been discharged.
The intensive care patients include six Britons, six Malaysians, three Australians, two Singaporeans and one person each from Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the Philippines, it said.
The hospital said nine people underwent surgery Tuesday and five more operations were expected to be completed Wednesday.
It said it had provided 104 people with medical care, including 19 at its clinic at the airport.
Alex Ross22 May 2024 13:00
The investigation - wo is taking part?
Aviation investigators have arrived in Bangkok to learn how and why severe turbulence sent a Singapore Airlines plane into a sudden dive that tossed passengers and crew around the cabin.
Officers from Singapore‘s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau arrived in Bangkok late Tuesday, Singapore Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on Wednesday.
He added that the US National Transportation Safety Board is also sending an accredited representative and four technical advisors to support the investigation because the incident involved a Boeing plane.
Alex Ross22 May 2024 12:25
‘Ordeal nearly over'
Andrew Davies was among those onboard the Boeing 777-300ER when the flight was forced to make an emergency landing after severe turbulence.
Landing in Bangkok, he took to social media, and wrote on X: “I was on that flight and helped as much as I could. Those not injured (including me) are in a holding area at Bangkok airport. My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience.”
But today, he updated those who contacted him to say he was now travelling onto New Zealand.
He wrote: “Thanks for all the nice posts and personal messages. Ordeal nearly over. Waiting to travel on to NZ from Singapore. Singapore Airlines couldn’t have been more accommodating. Very impressed. Thoughts with others worse off than me. Ultimately- I am just a delayed business passenger.”
Alex Ross22 May 2024 11:50
‘Proper investigation’ required, says Simon Calder
As officials begin their investigation into what happened on the Singapore Airlines flight that made an emergency landing in Bangkok after severe turbulence, The Independent’s travel correspondent expressed his concern on the incident.
Speaking to GB News, he said: “This particular event, you have a combination of extremely violent turbulence and a lot of movement. It was extremely distressing, and so many injuries as well as the loss of Mr Kitchen.”
He added: “Such tragic circumstances, and clearly it needs to be properly investigated to find out what the sequence of events were. I think it could also lead possibly to some rather different ways of flying [such as wearing of seatbelts at all times].”
Alex Ross22 May 2024 11:34
