The flight from London was bound for Singapore, but had to be diverted to Bangkok after being hit by a ‘severe turbulence’ mid-air.
In a confirmation, legacy carrier Singapore Airlines confirmed that there were five Filipino nationals on board the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from London to Singapore that was rocked by a “severe turbulence” on Tuesday afternoon.
It is unclear, however, whether these passengers were also included in the initial count of 30 that were either confined in hospitals or treated in hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand.
Aside from the five Filipinos, Singapore Airlines also said that there were 47 passengers from the United Kingdom, 41 from Singapore, 23 from New Zealand, 16 from Malaysia, 6 from Australia, 4 from Ireland, 4 from the United States, 3 from India, 2 from Canada, 2 from Indonesia, 2 from Myanmar, 2 from Spain, and 1 person each from Germany, Iceland, Israel, and South Korea.
SQ321: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
As of 2:30 am on Wednesday, May 22 (Manila time), the latest developments and information about the SQ321 flight are as follows:
- Flight SQ321 departed London’s Heathrow Airport at 10:38 pm, UK time on Monday, May 20. On board were 211 passengers and 18 crew members, as per Singapore Airlines.
- The Boeing 777-300 ER plane encountered a ‘severe turbulence’ during the lunch food service, when some of the passengers have removed their seatbelts.
- The plane had a steep descent of 6,000 feet from 37,000 feet to 31,000 feet, which is roughly about 1.8 kilometers, within a span of four minutes, as per flight tracking data.
- The turbulence took place while the plane was flying over the Irrawady Basin, which is part of the Thai airspace.
- The pilots called for an emergency landing and landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 3:45 pm, Thailand time.
- One British man, 73, with pre-existing heart condition died, likely due to a heart attack according to Thai airport officials.
- 30 other people, including 1 flight crew, was brought to the hospital. Out of the number, 18 were confined or hospitalized — 7 of them, critically injured. Meanwhile, 12 were brought to hospitals for treatment.
- Singapore Airlines says they will “provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.”
- SIA also “working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.”
- Singapore Airlines crisis management team was reported to have been activated and embarked on a flight to Bangkok at 8:30 pm, Singapore time.
- Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam says that he is “greatly saddened by the loss of life caused by severe turbulence on board the SQ321 flight.”
- Singaporean PM Lawrence Wong: “We are saddened and shocked by what happened. My deepest condolences to the family members and loved ones of the deceased.”
- “We are working closely with Thai authorities and doing everything we can to support the passengers and crew. We pray for their safe return and smooth recovery for those who are injured. We are still getting more information from Bangkok and will provide further updates in due course,” PM Wong added.
- Singaporean transport ministry has also coordinated with related agencies and Singapore Airlines to provide assistance to passengers onboard SQ321.
- Singaporean investigators to cooperate with Thai authorities to probe the fatal incident.
- Foreign media reports that some passengers will continue with their journey to Singapore through flights departing Bangkok “late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning.”
- According to Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, they have received a total of 71 passengers, among of those were six of the critically injured.