One dead, several injured after mid-air turbulence: What happened inside Singapore Airlines flight

Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines flight which experienced severe turbulence, resulting in an emergency landing in Bangkok, and the death of a passenger, described chaotic scenes with significant damage inside the plane and severe injuries.

"At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," the Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement.

Here’s what happened inside the Singapore Airlines flight:

According to Singapore Airlines, the said flight took off from London's Heathrow Airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route".

"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," the airline said in a statement. It added, "18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries.

Flight tracking data suggests the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. Notably, parts of Thailand have been experiencing thunderstorms.

Aviation news handle FL360 aero shared a few images and clips of the plane carrying distressed passengers after it hit turbulence. The last Singapore Airlines fatality was in October 2000 when a plane crashed on a closed runway during take-off in Taiwan and 83 people died. Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network.

(With agency inputs)