British passenger dies in severe plane turbulence

A British passenger died and seven people were critically injured yesterday when a flight from London to Singapore was hit by turbulence.

- Rebecca Ratcliffe, Gwyn Topham,

Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a "dramatic drop" by 6,000 feet that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling.

The airline said the Boeing 777 carrying 211 passengers - mostly from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Singapore and 18 crew members encountered severe turbulence on its way from Heathrow. The aircraft was diverted to Bangkok, where it landed at 3.45pm local time (0945 BST) yesterday.

Neighbours paid tribute to Geoffrey Kitchen, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, last night. The retired insurance professional with a "passion for theatre" died after leaving from Heathrow on Monday night.

Kitchen, 73, and his wife were on their way to a holiday in Australia via Singapore, neighbours told the Guardian. According to Thai authorities, he had a heart condition and probably had a heart attack.

Scientists have warned of increased turbulence, particularly "clear air turbulence", which is harder to detect or forecast, as global heating warms air at higher altitudes and makes weather more unpredictable.

At a press conference, Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of Airports of Thailand, confirmed that one person had died and that seven were in a critical condition, mostly with head injuries. Twenty-three passengers, plus one crew member, had less severe injuries, he said.

"The incident happened during meal service, about two to three hours before the flight was due to land in Singapore," he added. "It was probably during breakfast service.