On Tuesday, Singapore Airlines(SIA) officials said that the 229 passengers on the Singapore Airlines(SIA) flight experienced extreme and sudden turbulence when the flight flew over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar, and the passenger list also included three Indians.
In the terrifying incident, many additional passengers on the flight were hurt after they witnessed the aircraft drop at 6,000 feet within 3 minutes, resulting in the death of a 73-year-old British man. Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that the British man passed away due to a possible heart attack.
Singapore Airlines On the Incident
According to a Singapore Airlines official, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane SQ321 took off from Heathrow Airport, London, to reach its final destination in Singapore Changi Airport. However, the plane experienced sudden and extreme disruption when it flew over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar about 10 hours after the departure.
Due to the sudden disruption, many passengers were hurt and many needed immediate medical assistance, so the captain of the flight redirected the flight and landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, for medical assistance. The officials stated that ‘We can confirm that there were multiple injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.’
How Many Passengers were onboard the Flight?
The Singapore Airlines (SIA) officials said that eighteen people were submitted immediately to the hospital, while twelve people were receiving medical care in the hospital. But the rest of the passengers were just checked at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, to see whether they were injured by the turbulence or not. The report said that there were 221 passengers and 18 crew onboard the flight.
The following list included the types of nationalities present in the plane: Australia (56), Singapore (41), New Zealand (23), Malaysia (16), India (3), Canada (2), Germany (1), Myanmar (1), Iceland (4), the Philippines (5), South Korea (1), the United Kingdom (47), the United States (4), and Spain (2).
Singapore Airlines decided not to share information about the injured passengers, crew members, and their nationalities with the public.
Singapore Airlines Contacted the Familes of the Passengers
The authorities said that they offer their deepest apologies to the family of the deceased British man. They also apologised to the passengers and crew members who were hurt onboard the flight. They said that ‘We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time. We are working with our colleagues and the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary assistance.’
The SIA authorities will arrive in Bangkok soon and will investigate into the matter with any additonal assistance the team requested. The SIA team is also working with the appropriate agencies into the incident. The Singapore Airlines also requested that any family member can contact at 1800-845-313 in Australia, 080-0066-8194 in the UK and 65 6542 3311 in Singapore.
Singapore Prime Minister On this Incident
Lawrence Wong, the recently elected Prime Minister of Singapore, sent his sympathies and apologies to the family members of the passengers who were injured in the turbulence accident. He said that they were celebrating Vesak Day in Singapore but were shocked and sad to hear the news.
He also added that the Singapore government is collaborating and working closely with the Thai authorities to monitor the situation and support the crew and passengers with everything they can. Boeing, the US aircraft manufacturer, also sent their condolences to the passengers and the deceased British man who died in the accident.
Light turbulence in a plane can move the unsecured items in the plane from one place to another, but sudden turbulence can result in the passengers’ deaths and injuries as it can throw people around the cabin.
