3 Indians among passengers aboard Singapore Airlines flight hit by 'sudden extreme turbulence'
Singapore Airlines flight that encountered a «sudden extreme turbulence» over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet, the flag carrier of Singapore said on Tuesday. The traumatic incident in which the aircraft descended 6,000 feet in about three minutes, left a 73-year-old British man dead and more than two dozen other passengers injured.
The British man, who was not yet identified, «likely» died from a heart attack, the General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport Kittipong Kittikachorn said.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on May 20 encountered «sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure,» the carrier said.
The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok, and landed on May 21. «We can confirm that there were multiple injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft,» the carrier said in a Facebook post.
A total of 18 individuals had been hospitalised. Another 12 were being treated in hospitals. The remaining passengers and crew were being examined and given treatment, where necessary, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Singapore Airlines said.
There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, it said.
The nationalities of the passengers are as follows: 56 from Australia, 2 from Canada, 1 from Germany, 3 from India, 2 from Indonesia, 1 from Iceland, 4 from Ireland, 1 from Israel, 16 from
