SINGAPORE – A passenger on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 on May 21 said he heard a loud bang as soon as the seatbelt sign came on during the flight.
In an interview with British news outlet Sky News, British national Josh Silverstone said: “I remember waking up on the floor and just listening to people crying, looking around and seeing blood. Seeing the ceiling falling through and things like that.
“It was pretty alarming. There was a lady in front of me, kind of elderly, she couldn’t move. She didn’t remember her name. She didn’t know why she was on the flight.”
Mr Silverstone, 24, added that he saw a member of the cabin crew who had been scalded by hot water as breakfast was being served at the time of the incident.
“There were many other crew members who were bleeding as well, walking around checking everyone’s okay,” he said.
The flight, which had departed London’s Heathrow airport for Singapore on May 20, experienced extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin around 10 hours after departure.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, was then diverted to Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport for an emergency landing.
Of the 211 passengers, 41 were Singaporeans, with the remaining 170 from countries such as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Britain.
One passenger – Briton Geoffrey Kitchen – has died, and 20 others remain in critical condition, including two Singaporeans.
Mr Silverstone told Sky News he had used the aircraft’s Wi-Fi to contact his mother.
He said: “I didn’t want to be too alarming and scare them, so I messaged her something like ‘On a bit of a crazy flight. Having an emergency landing, I love you’.”
He said that he suffered a cut and bruising on his face, as well as a chipped tooth.