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Dramatic pictures reveal chaos on Singapore Airlines plane after turbulence killed British passenger

Holly Evans
Tuesday 21 May 2024 15:18 BST
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Inside Singapore Airlines plane as police confirm Brit, 73, was killed onboard

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Dramatic pictures shared on social media have revealed the chaos onboard a Singapore Airlines flight after a British passenger was killed during severe turbulence.

Images show damage to the ceiling of the cabin, with oxygen masks and debris strewn across the seats while food and cutlery can be seen on the floor. In one image, a female air stewardess can be seen with blood on her face, while her male colleague appears dishevelled and shocked after they were forced to drop 6,000ft within minutes.

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The interior of the plane after it landed in Bangkok
The interior of the plane after it landed in Bangkok (REUTERS)
Oxygen masks that fell from the ceiling during the dramatic incident
Oxygen masks that fell from the ceiling during the dramatic incident (REUTERS)

The flight, operated by Boeing 777-300ER, departed from Heathrow at 10.17pm and was forced to carry out an emergency landing at Bangkok at 3.45pm local time (9.45am BST) on Tuesday.

A 73-year-old British man was killed as a result of a suspected heart attack, while seven other people have been left in a critical condition and dozens more taken to hospital.

Terrified passengers have reported having barely any time to put on their seatbelts before the plane plummeted around 11 hours into the flight, before making a dramatic descent to land.

Food and cutlery can be seen strewn across the floor
Food and cutlery can be seen strewn across the floor (REUTERS)
Rescue medical teams prepare to move the injured to a hospital near Suvarnabhumi Airport
Rescue medical teams prepare to move the injured to a hospital near Suvarnabhumi Airport (EPA)
Ambulances at the airport treating passengers onboard the flight
Ambulances at the airport treating passengers onboard the flight (PHONGSAK SUKSI/AFPTV/AFP via Get)

Student Dzafran Azmir, 28, who was on the flight, said: “Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop, so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling.

“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.

“The crew and people inside lavatories were hurt the most because we discovered people just on the ground not able to get up. There were a lot of spinal and head injuries,” Azmir said.

Members of the emergency rescue teams who were helping injured passengers
Members of the emergency rescue teams who were helping injured passengers (AP)
Kittipong Kittikachorn, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, during a press conference
Kittipong Kittikachorn, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, during a press conference (AFP via Getty Images)

Another passenger, Andrew Davies, told the BBC that passengers were giving first aid to people with head lacerations and bleeding ears.

Images also showed ambulances lining up on the tarmac, with emergency workers taking around 90 minutes to evacuate the plane. Boeing have said they are in contact with Singapore Airlines and stand ready to provide support.

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