A 73-year-old British man has died and around 20 are in intensive care after a plane flew into heavy turbulence yesterday.
Now passengers tell about the horror in the cabin.
– There were things flying everywhere, people were hit in the head, says passenger Beverley Mayers.
It was yesterday morning Swedish time that a plane en route from London to Singapore ended up in severe turbulence.
– The whole plane shook, I was afraid it would break apart, says Beverly Mayers.
Passengers and luggage were thrown about, a 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack and around 100 people were injured.
– It is difficult to describe it, says Ali Bukhari, another passenger.
– A woman was lying on the floor and they tried to help her up. She had been injured in the head and there was blood everywhere, says Mayers.
Covered in blood
The aircraft, a large Boeing 777-300 ER with 211 passengers and 18 crew members, made an emergency landing in Bangkok and was met by a large number of ambulances.
Beverley Mayers says several of the passengers and crew were covered in blood when they were helped off the plane.
– It was terrible.
– It was incredibly traumatic. I am so happy to have been reunited with my family, says Ramiza Bukhari at the airport.
20 are in intensive care
Late on Tuesday, more than 70 of the roughly 100 injured people were said to be receiving continued care, six of them with serious injuries. On Wednesday, two hospitals in the city said 20 people were in intensive care. They come from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, among others. Another approximately 50 people are being treated with less serious injuries. One of them says that water flew into the cabin during the turbulence.
– It will be a while before I fly again, he says.
According to aviation experts, it is unusual for turbulence to have such far-reaching consequences. The incident is to be investigated by Singaporean authorities.