“Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling,” Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight, told Reuters.

“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it. They hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it,” he said.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport official confirmed one death but could not confirm the total injured.

Thai immigration police said medical personnel have boarded the plane to assess injuries, but could not confirm the number. It said uninjured passengers had disembarked.

“Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft,” the airline said.

“We are working with authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance.”

Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the National Transportation Safety Board.

From 2009 to 2018, the US agency found turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accident, and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.

Singapore Airlines, widely recognised as one of world’s leading airlines and a benchmark for much of the industry, has not had any major incidents in recent years.

Its last accident resulting in casualties was a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, where it crashed on October 31 2000 into construction equipment at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after attempting to take off from the wrong runway. The crash killed 83 of the 179 people on board.

Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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