More than 20 people hurt on turbulent Singapore Airlines flight have spinal injuries, hospital says
More than 20 people aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence on Tuesday remain in intensive care with spinal, brain and skull injuries, according to a Bangkok hospital that treated some of the passengers.
Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in the Thai capital is treating 22 patients with spine and spinal cord issues, six with skull and brain injuries, and another 13 for bone, muscle or soft tissue complaints, its director Adinun Kittiratanapaibool told reporters on Thursday.
The doctor added that 17 patients had undergone surgery, including procedures from stitches to spinal operations. One person died in the incident.
Passengers who spoke to the media after the plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok described how some passengers and crew were thrown around the cabin, their heads smashing into the overhead baggage cabins, and seeing people in shock with bloody wounds on their faces.
Josh Silverstone, one of the passengers on the Singapore Airlines flight, described feeling “happy to be alive” as he was leaving the hospital on Wednesday evening.
Speaking with journalists on his way out, the 24-year-old British citizen said he had suffered a cut on his eye and a chipped tooth in the turbulence, but that several passengers were in a much worse physical state than he is.
Silverstone described the aftermath of the emergency landing in Bangkok, saying he started vomiting, which prompted him to look for medical care.
Flight SQ321 from London to Singapore was cruising at 37,000 feet on Tuesday when the plane dropped sharply before climbing several hundred feet, according to flight tracking data. It then repeatedly dipped and ascended for about a minute.
Many passengers were having breakfast at the time of the incident. Video and images from inside the aircraft after its emergency landing in Bangkok showed the extent of the damage, with overhead compartments smashed open and emergency oxygen air masks dangling above the seats.
A photo of one galley showed a section of the ceiling open with parts of the plane’s interior hanging down. Trays, containers, plastic bottles and hot beverage pots can be seen strewn across the floor.
After the incident, the plane – which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew – was diverted to Bangkok, where ambulances and emergency response teams were waiting.
Those injured on the flight included citizens from Australia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and Ireland, the hospital previously said.
Of the total 104 passengers who were reported injured on the flight, 55 people remain in hospital.
A 73-year-old British man with an existing heart condition died on board, though hospital officials haven’t confirmed his cause of death.
The man was later identified as Geoff Kitchen, who was described as “always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity” by the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group, an establishment where he worked for more than 35 years.
Of the passengers and crew on board the original flight, 143 were flown to Singapore on a relief flight sent by Singapore Airlines on Wednesday morning.
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