The Briton who died of a heart attack following severe turbulence on board a Singapore Airlines flight has been named as Geoffrey Ralph Kitchen.
It is believed the 73-year-old suffered a heart attack after the plane suddenly dropped to 30,000 feet in the space of about three minutes.
The plane, en route to Singapore, had to make an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
Police have since confirmed that British retiree Mr Kitchen died on the Singapore Airlines flight today. The pensioner, from Thornbury, is believed to have been thrown about and suffered a heart attack when the Boeing 777 was hit by treacherous conditions.
Geoffrey, who managed a musical theater group, died on board flight SQ321 before it made an emergency landing.
Mr Kitchen, who was retired, was taken to a police hospital for a post-mortem examination. His wife, who was also injured in the horror turbulence, is being treated in hospital.
Airport director Kittipong Kittikachorn confirmed the name and details of the man who had died. He was also named in a police report about the incident.
The flight carried a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew members, the airline confirmed in a statement.
“Singapore Airlines extends its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the company said. The airline is working with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance to the injured, sending ambulances and emergency teams to Suvarnbhumi Airport.
In an update published on social media on Tuesday afternoon, Singapore Airlines said: “The nationalities of the passengers are as follows: 56 from Australia, two from Canada, one from Germany, three from India, two from Indonesia, one from Iceland, four from Ireland, one from Israel16 from Malaysia, two from Myanmar, 23 from New Zealand, five from the Philippines, 41 from Singapore, one from South Korea, two from Spain, 47 from the United Kingdom and four from the United States of America.
Flightradar24 said tracking data showed the plane encountered turbulence while flying over Myanmar at around 8.49am BST. The flight tracking service said data sent from the plane showed a “rapid change in vertical speed, consistent with sudden turbulence”, adding that there were “some severe” thunderstorms in the area at the time.
A passenger from London, who gave his name as Andrew, told the story BBC At Radio 5 Live the seat belt sign came on, he followed the instruction, and “at that moment the plane suddenly fell”.
He said: “What I remember most is seeing objects and things flying through the air. I was having coffee. It was incredibly violent turbulence.” He heard “terrible screaming” as the plane fell, and what “sounded like a thud.”