Most passengers, crew from turbulent flight flown to Singapore

Most of the remaining passengers and crew from the Singapore Airlines flight that hit major turbulence, resulting in a passenger death and dozens of injured travellers, have landed in Singapore on a special flight.

The Boeing 777-300ER with 211 passengers and 18 crew members was on its way from London to Singapore when it was forced to land in Bangkok on Tuesday, Singapore Airline chief Goh Choon Phong said in a video on Facebook on Wednesday.

The plane encountered severe turbulence at an altitude of nearly 11,280 metres and plummeted almost 1,800 metres over the west coast of Myanmar, the airline chief said.

On Wednesday, 131 passengers and 12 crew members landed at the Changi Airport in Singapore. They were greeted by hugs and tears from family members and others, The Straits Times reported.

There are still 79 passengers and several other crew members in Bangkok. These were the injured, who are receiving medical care, as well as their travelling relatives and friends.

No further details about the condition of the injured were initially released.

A 73-year-old British man died, presumably of a heart attack. His wife and dozens of other people were injured. Most of the injured were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the sudden turbulence, which occurred about 10 hours into the flight.