Many passengers injured on Singapore Airlines turbulence flight require spinal surgery and six others have brain injuries, Bangkok hospital reveals
Twenty people remain in intensive care and a 73-year-old British man died
The brutal turbulence that befell a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday morning left 22 passengers with considerable spinal cord injuries and six with brain and skull injuries, hospital officials decalred today.
Twenty people remain in intensive care and a 73-year-old British man died after the Boeing 777, which was flying from London's Heathrow airport to Singapore suddenly descended sharply after hitting the turbulence over the Andaman Sea on Tuesday.
Pilots performed an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand, where more than 100 people received medical treatment and around 80 were rushed to two hospitals.
But it was revealed by Thai doctors this morning that many of the 22 passengers with spinal injuries will need surgery, and 40 people still remain in hospital.
Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, Director of Bangkok's Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, said the oldest patient at the hospital is 83 years old and the youngest a two-year-old child who suffered a concussion, he added.
Ten Brits, nine Australians, seven Malaysians and four Philippine citizens were among the 40 people in hospital, according to a presentation made by Adinun.
Australian citizen Keith Davies suffered several injuries on the flight, while his British wife Kerry remains in intensive care
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, May 21, 2024.
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, in Bangkok, Thailand May 21, 2024 in this handout image
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, May 21, 2024
A man is stretchered out of the plane by Thai emergency services following landing in Bangkok
It remains unclear what exactly caused the turbulence that sent the plane, which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, plunging around 6,000ft in just 180 seconds.
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Three minutes of terror in the skies: Interactive flight map shows how Singapore Airlines jet plummeted 6,000ft in 180 horrifying seconds after hitting turbulence and air pocket over Andaman Sea
But passengers have described the 'sheer terror' of the aircraft shuddering, loose items flying and injured people lying paralysed on the floor of the plane.
Travellers said people standing in the aisle were smashed into the ceiling and 'did somersaults', while others suffered nasty gashes and poured blood from their wounds.
In one of the latest accounts of the chaos on board, 43-year-old Malaysian Amelia Lim described finding herself face down on the floor.
'I was so afraid .. I could see so many individuals on the floor, they were all bleeding. There was blood on the floor as well as on the people,' she told the online Malay Mail newspaper.
The woman who had been seated next to her was 'motionless in the aisle and unable to move, likely suffering from a hip or spinal injury,' she added.
Thai authorities said the British man who died, Geoff Kitchen, likely had a heart attack.
Passengers have described how the flight crew tried to revive him by performing CPR for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Australian citizen Keith Davis said his British wife Kerry was one of the Brits who suffered critical injuries and is now in the Intensive Care Unit at Bangkok's Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital.
He did not reveal what Kerry's injuries were, but said he wants her to be medically evacuated back to their home in Adelaide.
Davis's injuries were clearly visible on his face with a dark bruise and swelling under his right eye when he visited a hospital café.
He also had a bandage wrapped around his head after he sustained a cut from smashing his head into the panel above his seat.
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, May 21, 2024
Josh Silverstone, from Britain, who was injured during the flight of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER, talks to reporters at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital
Mia Stevenson was one of several Brits on the flight
Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the plane and ultimately died
A general view shows the exterior of Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where some of the injured passengers were being treated two days after the turbulence-hit Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, in Bangkok on May 23, 2024
British student Mia Lawrence revealed how she 'froze with terror' after being catapulted out of her seat on the ill-fated Singapore Airlines flight.
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'I froze with terror after being smashed into the ceiling on Singapore Airlines flight - it was the most frightening moment of my life': Brit relives turbulence hell that claimed one life and left six other UK tourists in intensive care
Other passengers were ejected from their seats as coffee and cups of water were thrown into the air and their mobile phones, shoes and cushions flung around the cabin.
Some feared they were about to die - 24-year-old Jim Silverstone said he paid for on board WiFi for the first time ever so he could text his mum that he loved her.
Silverstone, from south London, was on his way to meet friends in Bali.
As he left the hospital in Thailand yesterday, he described the ordeal as 'simply terrifying' as he was thrown to the floor when the Boeing 777 plummeted 6,000ft in three minutes.
He suffered a cut to his cheek and a chipped tooth.
Another Brit, Mia Stevenson, told MailOnline: 'I was partially asleep and the next thing I remember is that I just flew upwards and crashed into the ceiling and then fell down really hard into the aisle.'
Hospital chiefs were unable to reveal the names of those being treated due to patient confidentiality.
But one of the women in intensive care is the widow of 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen who is believed to have suffered a fatal heart attack.
Linda Kitchen is among the passengers who sustained significant spinal injuries.
Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, speaks to the press about the treatment and condition of injured passengers two days after the turbulence-hit Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore, in Bangkok on May 23, 2024
A blood smear is seen on the overhead baggage locker following turbulence
The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, May 21, 2024
Most people associate turbulence with heavy storms, but the most dangerous type is so-called clear air turbulence.
Wind shear can occur in wispy cirrus clouds or even in clear air near thunderstorms, as differences in temperature and pressure create powerful currents of fast-moving air.
According to a 2021 report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, turbulence accounted for 37.6% of all accidents on larger commercial airlines between 2009 and 2018. The Federal Aviation Administration, another U.S. government agency, has said there were 146 serious injuries from turbulence from 2009 to 2021.
Tourism and aviation expert Anita Mendiratta, who is based in London, said the extreme turbulence was 'extremely unusual.'
She said passengers should listen to instructions to keep their seatbelts on, ensure that hand baggage is put away safely when not in use, and reduce items stowed in the overhead compartments.
'When there is turbulence, those doors can open and all of the items up top, whether it's our hand baggage, our jackets, our duty free items, they become movable and they become a risk to us all,' she said.