Singapore Airlines disruptions: Hospital says more than 20 people injured during flight suffer spinal injuries

CNN
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There were more than 20 people on board Singapore Airlines flight A Bangkok hospital that treated some passengers said the plane, which was hit by severe turbulence on Tuesday, was still in intensive care due to injuries to the spine, brain and skull.

Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in the Thai capital is treating 22 patients suffering from spine and spinal cord problems, six suffering from skull and brain injuries, and 13 others suffering from bone, muscle or soft tissue complaints, hospital director Adinon Kitiratanapaipul told reporters on Thursday.

The doctor added that 17 patients underwent surgical operations, including stitches and spinal operations. One person died in the accident.

Passengers who spoke to the media after the plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok Describe how some passengers The crew were thrown around the cabin, their heads hitting the overhead luggage compartments, and saw people in shock with bloody gashes on their faces.

Josh Silverstone, a passenger on the Singapore Airlines flight, described feeling “happy to be alive” as he left hospital on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to reporters on his way out, the 24-year-old British citizen said he suffered a cut in his eye and a broken tooth due to the turbulence, but that many passengers were in much worse physical condition than him.

Silverstone described the effects of the emergency landing in Bangkok, saying that he began vomiting, which prompted him to seek medical care.

Flight SQ321 from London to Singapore was flying at 37,000 feet on Tuesday When the plane It fell sharply before rising Several hundred feet, according to flight tracking data. Then it repeatedly went down and up for about a minute.

Many passengers were eating breakfast at the time of the accident. Video and photos from inside the plane after its emergency landing in Bangkok The photo showed the extent of the damage, with overhead compartments shattered and emergency oxygen air masks dangling above the seats.

A photo of one of the kitchens showed a section of the ceiling open and parts of the plane’s interior hanging down. Trays, containers, plastic bottles and pots of hot drinks can be seen scattered on the floor.

After the accident, the plane – which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew – was diverted to Bangkok, where ambulances and emergency response teams were waiting.

The hospital said earlier that among those injured on the plane were citizens of Australia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and Ireland.

Of the total 104 passengers reported to be infected on board, 55 people remain hospitalized.

A 73-year-old British man with a heart condition died on the plane, although hospital officials have not confirmed his cause of death.

The man was later identified as Jeff Kitchen, who was described by Thornbury Musical Theater Group, an organization where he worked for more than 35 years, as “a gentleman always of the utmost honesty and integrity”.

Of the passengers and crew on the original flight, 143 people were flown to Singapore on a relief flight sent by Singapore Airlines on Wednesday morning.