Turbulence on horror flight 'like falling off a cliff'

Jerry, from Reading, had been travelling with family

The moment a flight from London to Singapore hit strong turbulence was like "falling off a cliff", a passenger on-board has said.

Jerry, from Reading in Berkshire, had been travelling with family to a wedding in Australia when the Singapore Airlines flight hit the severe conditions.

The flight suffered a sudden drop as a meal service was under way, launching people and objects across the cabin.

A 73-year-old British man died from a suspected heart attack, while more than 30 people have been injured.

Jerry, 68, told the BBC: "It was surreal, it was a little bit bumpy and then suddenly it's like we fell off a cliff.

"I ended up hitting my head on the ceiling and my wife did. Some poor people were walking around and ended up doing somersaults.

"It was absolutely terrible. And then suddenly it stopped and it was calm again and the staff did their best to tend to the injured people."

The cabin interior, pictured after the emergency landing in Bangkok

The Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER diverted to Bangkok following the mid-air incident, making an emergency landing at 15:45 local time (08:45 GMT) with some 211 passengers and 18 crew aboard.

Once Jerry arrived in Bangkok, a swarm of medical teams greeted the aircraft and took the patients with the worst injuries off first, he said

He went to the hospital as his grandson needed to have an assessment. Once at the hospital, he also found his daughter and her husband. He struggled to find his wife at first, but the pair were eventually reunited.

Jerry said he and his family would be flying straight home from Bangkok, as soon as his daughter and wife were discharged from hospital. It means they will miss his son's wedding on Friday.

He said: “My daughter will be in [hospital] for a few days. My wife I’m not so sure. But it could have been a lot worse.”

Singapore Airlines said 31 people on board were taken to hospital and the airline offered its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.

The company said it was working with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance to passengers, and was sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional help needed.