Eight Australians are in a Bangkok hospital after severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight left one person dead and more than 70 injured.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the plane was about 10 hours into the London to Singapore flight when it fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast and encountered turbulence, flinging passengers and crew around the cabin. The pilot requested an emergency landing and the plane was diverted to Bangkok.
73-year-old British grandfather Geoffrey Kitchen was identified as the passenger who died. Seven people were critically injured, some with head injuries.
Fifty-six Australians were among the 211 passengers and 18 crew on board the flight at the time.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said eight of those Australians were in hospital in Bangkok being treated for injuries.
“This is a terrible experience that these people have gone through. As usual, the Australian government will provide consular assistance wherever we can, wherever it’s needed to those people,” O’Neil told Channel 7’s Sunrise program on Wednesday morning.
Australians affected should contact the Australian government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas or 1300 555 135 from within Australia.
