A passenger described the horrific moment severe turbulence on a flight from London Heathrow caused the death of at least one person and injured 20 others.
The Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 plunged “6,000 ft” before making an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand.
A passenger onboard said passengers were “launched into the ceiling” when the incident occurred.
Dzafran Azmir, 28, told Reuters: “Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling.
First pictures inside the cabin show food and drink strewn over the cabin floor, with what appears to be a person under a blanket in the corner.
In a statement on Facebook, Singapore Airlines confirmed both that the plane and had been diverted and that one of the passengers had died.
They said: “Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 2024.
“We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.”