“We can confirm there are injuries and one fatality as there were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board the Boeing 777-300ER.”The airline said on Facebook.
Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Kittipong Kittikachorn said the deceased passenger was a 73-year-old British man.
He added that most of the injured suffered from head injuries and the condition of 7 of them was critical.
The airline said 56 of the passengers were Australian, 47 British and 41 Singaporean.
A total of thirty passengers and crew were injured in the incident, Singapore Airlines and the airport said.
A total of 71 people, including six seriously injured, were treated at the Samithivej Hospital in Srinagar, Bangkok, said.
“We sincerely apologize for the traumatic experience our passengers and crew have had during this difficult time.” He assured the airline.
The incident is the latest involving Boeing, following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, following an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX fuselage panel explosion in January.
It came at a time when parts of Thailand were experiencing thunderstorms at the start of the rainy season.
Singapore is sending investigators
“At 3:35 p.m. (08:35 GMT), the airport received a distress call from a Singapore Airlines flight in which passengers were injured in turbulence and requested an emergency landing,” Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement.
At 3:45 p.m. local time (08:45 GMT), the Boeing 777 landed on the runway and ambulances rushed toward it with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Scientists say climate change will cause more turbulence, invisible to radar.
According to a 2023 study, the annual duration of turbulence increased by 17% between 1979 and 2020 and severe turbulence, which is rare, increased by more than 50%.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sent his “deepest condolences” to the victims and their families and pledged on Facebook that his country was “working closely with the Thai authorities”.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family who have lost a loved one, and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew,” Boeing responded on social network X, saying it “stands ready to support” Singapore Airlines.
The US airline has been rocked by a series of crises related to production and quality control issues, leading to the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun.
By May 28, Boeing must submit to the US aviation regulator the FAA – which has indefinitely halted production of the 737 MAX – a “comprehensive action plan” to address several non-compliance issues.
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