Singapore Airlines says 131 passengers and 12 crew from flight SQ321 have arrived at Changi Airport after serious turbulence forced their original flight from London to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. One person was killed and at least 70 injured.
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00:00How do you feel about the experience? Were you hurt?
00:03No, it was very nice.
00:05Arriving at their destination after a nightmare diversion,
00:09passengers aboard a Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence
00:14have finally reached Singapore via a relief flight.
00:18Flight SQ321 from London to Singapore broke from its path
00:23and made an emergency landing in Bangkok.
00:26After sudden turbulence, threw passengers and crew around the cabin
00:30during a meal service, killing one person and hospitalising at least 71.
00:36I don't think for most people who weren't prepared,
00:40they wouldn't really have time to really react and do something about it
00:45because if I remember correctly, I think the seatbelt signs were off,
00:49but I saw people from across the aisle just going completely horizontal,
00:57hitting the ceiling and landing back down in really awkward positions.
01:01The Boeing 777-300ER left London's Heathrow on Monday night local time
01:07with 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board.
01:12The airline says the plane encountered turbulence here,
01:15over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar, and plunged around 1,800 metres in minutes.
01:21The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok,
01:26landing in Suvarnabhumi Airport Tuesday afternoon.
01:30Atmospheric scientists say unstable weather is the most obvious cause of turbulence,
01:35but that clear air turbulence can also happen
01:38when large air masses close to each other move at different speeds.
01:44At higher altitudes where most aircraft are flying,
01:47the main sources are one, clear air turbulence,
01:51which is kind of a misnomer because it can be not clear air,
01:56but there can be the source due to clear air.
01:59That is, you can have the jet stream causing winds to be very strong.
02:04Flight safety experts urge travellers to keep seatbelts on whenever possible,
02:09regardless of the fastened seatbelt sign,
02:12to minimise injuries during turbulence.
02:15As for this latest incident, the CEO of Singapore Airlines
02:19has offered his condolences in a video message on Facebook
02:23and says the airline will provide all possible assistance
02:26to the remaining 85 passengers and crew still receiving medical care in Bangkok.
02:32Joseph Wu and Joyce Tsen for Taiwan Plus.