By Jamie Bullen and Perkin Amalaraj. A year-old British passenger on board a Singapore Airlines has been killed and seven others are fighting for their lives after extreme turbulence caused mayhem in the cabin and forced pilots to make an emergency landing. After leaving London last night at Terrified passengers described how they had little warning to strap on their seatbelts before the aircraft plummeted, with one recounting how people were 'launched into the ceiling' as the plane fell through the sky.
A plane carrying those who were onboard SQ, but were not seriously hurt, has now left Bangkok. They are being flown to Singapore, where they will be met by relatives and Singapore Airlines Staff at a dedicated area in the airport. The US National Transportation Safety board said it was ending four technical advisors and an accredited representative to support Singapore Airlines' team.
In its third update tonight, Singapore Airlines said a team from Singapore has arrived in Bangkok to support their 'colleagues and the local authorities on the ground. The airline added in the post, made just after midnight local time: 'We are providing all possible assistance to the passengers and crew on board SQ, both at the hospital and the airport.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong offered his condolences to the family of Geoffrey Kitchen, the British man who tragically passed away on the Singapore Airlines flight today. Wong said in a Facebook post that he and his government were 'all saddened and shocked by what happened. We are working closely with Thai authorities and doing everything we can to support the passengers and crew. We are still getting more information from Bangkok and will provide further updates in due course.
A spokesperson told the Telegraph: 'We are responding to the emergency landing in Bangkok of a Singapore Airlines flight and are in contact with the local authorities.
