Singapore Airlines flight – latest: Turbulence leaves 20 still in intensive care as Brit who died named as Geoffrey Kitchen

Today, reporters have been stationed outside hospitals in Bangkok waiting to speak to passengers who were on the flight.

British passenger Andrew Davies told Sky News that the seatbelt sign had come on just before the turbulence, but crew members didn’t have time to take their seats.

“Every single cabin crew person I saw was injured in some way or another, maybe with a gash on their head,” Davies said. “One had a bad back, who was in obvious pain.”

Among the distress over the experience faced by people on the Singapore Airlines flight, there has been some praise for crew members.

Passenger Josh Silverstone said the crew had been “amazing” and the pilot “did well” to land the plane in such difficult conditions.

Another passenger, Andrew Davies, wrote on X: “Singapore Airlines couldn’t have been more accommodating. Very impressed. Thoughts with others worse off than me. Ultimately- I am just a delayed business passenger.”

Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 showed Tuesday’s flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,300 meters). At one point, the Boeing 777-300ER suddenly and sharply descended to 31,000 feet (9,400 meters) over about three minutes, according to the data.

The aircraft then stayed at 31,000 feet for under 10 minutes before diverting and landing in Bangkok less than a half-hour later.

Newlyweds Ali and Ramiza Bukhari, who were flying back from their honeymoon, told reporters at Sydney Airport late Wednesday that they were relieved to be back in Australia. “It was a very, very traumatic experience. It’s hard for me to describe into words. No one expects that really, you know,” Ali Bukhari said.

Josh Silverstone, 24 from south London, woke up on the floor of the plane.

“I (…) didn’t realise what happened. I must have got hit in the head somewhere. Lots of people hit their head. Everyone was bleeding,” he said as he left the hospital on Wednesday evening after being treated.

He had been heading to Singapore for a holiday before meeting friends in Bali. He said he still hoped to make it to the Indonesian island.

Many passengers in the hospital still being treated had spinal injuries.

“I am lucky to be able to walk,” he said.

A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Our deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected.

“Accidents of this nature are extremely rare and aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel.”

Aviation consultant John Strickland said that “turbulence happens” but, even with millions of flights each year, incidents are “limited” and “fatalities are rare”.

He said: “Exposure is greater in different parts of the world.

“The South Atlantic, Africa and the Bay of Bengal are all places that spring to mind where there’s a greater incidence.

“There are discussions about whether climate change is influencing an increase in occurrences.”

Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow.

Lizzie Atkins, a friend of Mr Kitchen, said he and his wife had been planning to go on a cruise in Indonesia before travelling to Australia, describing the pair as “adventurous travellers”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I just can’t believe that I’m having to do this. He was the most wonderful human being that you could ever know, really one of the top ones – he was stable and reliable and you always knew you were in safe hands with Geoff. He was just a remarkable man, really.

“He had a really dry sense of humour and he had a twinkle in his eye. Every time you saw him you just knew he was going to make a funny joke.”

As reported, Geoffrey Kitchen, aged 73, from Thornbury near Bristol, died on the flight as it was hit by severe turbulence.

Mr Kitchen formerly worked in the insurance industry, and in retirement was continuing his decades-long involvement with amateur theatre.

On Wednesday, a Thai airport official said Kitchen might have had a heart attack, though that hadn’t been confirmed.

More tales of the drama on board the Singapore Airlines flight are being shared today by passengers.

They include an Australian who told Sky News that the seatbelt sign had come on just ahead of the turbulence, but she could not act in time because she had been asleep. Thirty-year-old Teandra Tukhunen, speaking from a hospital with her left arm in a sling, said she had been “thrown to the roof and then to the floor.” “It was just so quick, over in a couple of seconds and then you’re just shocked. Everyone’s pretty freaked out,” she said.