The passenger who died on the Singapore Arlines flight is a 73-year-old British man, who probably died of a heart attack. This was announced by the Bangkok authorities, who are currently holding a press conference. There are 7 passengers in serious condition, while 23 others were injured. There are 9 crew members hospitalized with minor injuries.
According to India Today, in just five minutes the plane dropped sharply by around 2000 metres, going from an altitude of around 11,300 to 9500 metres. The first images taken by passengers on board the plane hit by violent turbulence are circulating on social media X. The photos capture the panic of flight SQ321, which took off from London's Heathrow airport at 10.30pm yesterday (London time, 00.30am Italian time).
On the Boeing 777-300ER you can see dented overhead bins, various objects scattered on the floor and emergency oxygen masks hanging over the seats. Aviation safety experts, reports the BBC, say that it is not always possible to predict and avoid serious turbulence, which is increasingly common due to climate change. In just 5 minutes.
The FlightRadar 24 website specifies that at the time of the turbulence, the Boeing had been in flight for 11 hours, had just passed the Andaman Sea and was approaching Thailand. «The plane started to point upwards and oscillations began. Suddenly, a drastic fall. Passengers sitting without their seatbelts on found themselves thrown from their seats,” 28-year-old Dzafran Azmir told Reuters.