SQ321 turbulence: Nine Malaysians injured with one in 'critical but stable' condition
SQ321 was en route from London to Singapore when it made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, following sudden extreme turbulence. (Photos: Handout via Reuters)
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday (May 22) confirmed that nine citizens, including a crew member, were injured on board Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321.
The plane was en route from London to Singapore when it made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Tuesday, following sudden extreme turbulence.
The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that a total of 16 Malaysians were on the flight with nine of them currently receiving treatment.
“Currently, six Malaysians are being treated at the Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital and three others at the Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital.
“According to both hospitals, all of them had suffered physical and internal injuries, with one person in critical but stable condition,” read the statement.
The embassy has been coordinating with local authorities and hospitals to render assistance and is also in touch with consular officers.
The foreign ministry also noted that the Malaysians who were injured are "under surveillance" and awaiting medical results.
The ministry also extended its deepest condolences to the family of the 73-year-old British passenger who died, as well as wished a swift recovery to all those injured.
Malaysians requiring consular assistance may contact the Embassy of Malaysia in Bangkok at +66-2340-5731/5732 during working hours or +66-87-028-4659 after working hours.
Officials from the British and Malaysian embassies in Bangkok visited Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital on Wednesday to check on the injured.
According to an AP report, British officials were taken to the ninth floor, which hosts the hospital's intensive care unit along with pediatric surgery and bone marrow transplant wards.
The flight with 211 passengers and 18 crew members was about 10 hours into its journey when it encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at an altitude of 37,000 feet, causing it to abruptly rise and plunge several times.
One passenger said people were thrown around the cabin so violently they put dents in the ceiling, leaving dozens with head injuries.
Photos from inside the plane show the cabin in chaos, strewn with food, drinks bottles and luggage, and with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.
The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Bangkok, landing at 3.45pm local time on Tuesday.
British passenger Andrew Davies told BBC radio that the plane "suddenly dropped" and there was "very little warning".
"During the few seconds of the plane dropping, there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud," he said, adding that he helped a woman who was "screaming in agony" with a "gash on her head".
Separately, he told a BBC podcast he feared the plane was going to crash.
"Remembering the plane now - the huge dents in the roof that people had obviously hit with their head. There was a water bottle stuck in a gap in the ceiling," he said.
Flight tracking data showed SQ321 experienced a 6,000-foot (1.8km) drop within four minutes.
While turbulence can cause planes to lose altitude quickly, experts said the sudden dive for an aircraft the size of the Boeing 777-300ER would more likely have been the pilots' reaction to the situation.
“That amount of descent (relative to) time may not be subjected to a downdraft, it could be more indicative of the pilots reacting to the situation,” Mr Michael Daniel, managing director of consultancy firm Aviation Insight, told CNA's Singapore Tonight.
