A Singapore Airlines A380 Airbus, pictured here on October 25, 2007, in Sydney, Australia.Getty Images
Four passengers from Ireland were on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 which encountered "severe turbulence," leading to one death and more than a dozen hospitalizations.
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed with the PA on Tuesday that four Irish citizens were on the flight, but it is not yet known whether they were among the many injured people.
“We are aware that four Irish citizens were on board," a spokesperson for the Department told The PA on Tuesday.
“The Embassy is in close contact with the relevant Thai authorities and stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
Singapore Airlines said its flight, a Boeing 777-300ER which departed London's Heathrow Airport on Monday, May 20 bound for Singapore, “encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure.
“The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok, and landed at 1545hrs [3:45 pm] local time on 21 May 2024.”
Sky News shared footage of inside the aircraft after it made its emergency landing:
See inside the Singapore Airlines plane which had to make an emergency landing, after a 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack during the turbulence on the London-Singapore flight
Full story ➡️ https://t.co/QxPKmwFSwD pic.twitter.com/oI0KPrI6Df
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 21, 2024
Singapore Airlines has been providing updates on social media on Tuesday regarding the extreme turbulence incident on the flight that had 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
As well as the four passengers from Ireland, the nationalities of the passengers are 56 from Australia, 2 from Canada, 1 from Germany, 3 from India, 2 from Indonesia, 1 from Iceland, 1 from Israel, 16 from Malaysia, 2 from Myanmar, 23 from New Zealand, 5 from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, 1 from South Korea, 2 from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom, and 4 from the United States of America.
Singapore Airlines said just before 8 pm local time on Tuesday that 18 individuals had been hospitalized and another 12 were being treated in hospitals.
The remaining passengers and crew were being examined and given treatment, where necessary, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
Footage shared by Reuters showed at least one person being taken off the plane on a stretcher, as well as a "makeshift emergency room" on the airport's tarmac:
In a press conference on Tuesday, Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager for Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that the person who died was a 73-year-old British man. Kittikachorn said the man's death was initially believed to have been due to heart failure or a heart attack.
The UK Sun reports that the man was Geoffrey Kitchen, who was traveling to Singapore with his wife for a "dream vacation."
In its latest update on Tuesday, Singapore Airlines said a team from the airline had arrived in Bangkok from Singapore "to support its colleagues and the local authorities on the ground."
The airline added: "We are providing all possible assistance to the passengers and crew on board SQ321, both at the hospital and the airport."
Singapore Airlines offered "its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.
"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight.
"We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time.
"We are working with our colleagues and the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary assistance."
Relatives seeking information may call the Singapore Airlines hotlines at +65 6542 3311 (Singapore), 1800-845-313 (Australia), and 080-0066-8194 (the United Kingdom).