Some injured passengers from a Singapore Airlines flight hit by extreme turbulence remained in a Thai hospital on Wednesday (May 22), while others who were able to continue their journey to Singapore recounted the harrowing experience that left at least one man dead and forced the airline's CEO to apologize on behalf of the company. - REUTERS
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00:00 British Embassy staff were seen arriving at a Bangkok hospital on Wednesday to visit passengers
00:06 who were still being treated for injuries after deadly turbulence hit their Singapore
00:11 Airlines flight.
00:13 SQ321 was flying more than 220 passengers and crew from London to Singapore the day
00:19 before, when it encountered severe turbulence. A 73-year-old British passenger died of a
00:26 suspected heart attack, and at least 30 people were injured, according to the airlines, though
00:31 a Thai hospital said it was treating 71 people from the flight.
00:36 Zafran Azmir was a passenger aboard the Boeing 777 flight, which was diverted to Bangkok.
00:42 "I saw people from across the aisle just like going completely horizontal, hitting the ceiling
00:50 and landing back down in really awkward positions, people getting massive gashes in their head,
00:58 concussions."
00:59 The 28-year-old student told Reuters that it happened so quickly no one had time to
01:03 respond. He also said he had no idea how bad the situation was until the plane made its
01:09 emergency landing.
01:10 "I didn't realise the things that broke within the airplane, the dents that were made in
01:18 the overhead luggage compartments and all the additional panelling above our heads.
01:24 I thought it was just the oxygen masks coming out and popping out of the panel, but in fact
01:31 heads had literally pushed through and broken those plastic panels and there was just blood
01:39 and there was bits and pieces just broken everywhere."
01:42 Azmir was among some 140 passengers and crew who finally arrived in Singapore on Wednesday
01:48 aboard a Singapore Airlines relief flight.
01:51 Company chief executive Goh Choon Pong said he was deeply saddened by the incident.
01:55 "We are very sorry for the traumatic experience that everyone on board SQ321 went through."
02:03 According to Singapore's transport minister, the city states transport safety investigators
02:08 have arrived in Bangkok, where the plane remains. The minister said US transport safety officials
02:14 were also being sent to support the probe, since the incident involves American playmaker
02:19 Boeing.
02:20 It occurred over Myanmar's Irrawaddy Basin about 10 hours into the flight, Singapore
02:25 Airlines said. Weather forecasting service AccuWeather said rapidly developing explosive
02:30 thunderstorms near its flight path most likely contributed to the violent turbulence.
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