71 injured, 1 dead after Singapore Airlines aircraft suffers severe turbulence

At least one person died and 71 others were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence on Monday night, according to multiple reports.

The Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok, as stated in a post on the Singapore Airlines Facebook page. The post indicated that there were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board.

The aircraft maintained an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 meters) for just under 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok within half an hour. The descent occurred while the flight was over the Andaman Sea near Myanmar.

Initially, the company posted that 30 passengers had been injured during the mid-air disruption and were being treated in hospitals, while other travelers were receiving outpatient care at the airport.

The person who died was a 73-year-old British man.

According to the aviation tracking site FlightRadar24, the turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 occurred over Myanmar at approximately 7:49 a.m. UTC (3:49 a.m. ET).

FlightRadar24 reported in a blog post that at that time, the flight experienced a rapid change in vertical rate, consistent with a sudden turbulence event.

The data showed the flight changing course about 14 minutes later. The airline stated, "The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok."

This aligns with a statement from the airline that the plane "encountered sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet, about 10 hours after departure."