British Retiree Who Died On Board SQ321 Was Headed For Vacation With Wife
He was suspected of dying from a cardiac event when the plane hit rough weather.
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A Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane hit severe turbulence on Tuesday which led to multiple injuries and one death.
Flight SQ321 was en route to Singapore from London, but it was forced to be diverted to Bangkok because of rough weather.
READ MORE: #SQ321: 1 Dead, 30 Injured As Singapore Airlines Flight Encounters Severe Turbulence
The sole fatality was identified as Geoffery Kitchen, a 73-year-old man from the United Kingdom.
He was a retired insurance professional and was a beloved musical theatre director of the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group.
The cause of his death is suspected to be a heart attack, as reported by The Straits Times.
He was with his wife, Linda, and they were headed for a vacation. They had planned to stop in Singapore and then head to Australia for a six-week long holiday. They had plans to visit Japan and Indonesia as well.
Linda is currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Thailand, however, her condition remains unclear.
Thornbury Musical Theatre
Geoffery was born in Bristol but spent the majority of his life in Thornbury, Gloucestershire.
After retiring, Kitchen founded the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group and appeared in a Dick Whittington pantomime last Christmas. This year, the theatre troupe is putting on two shows.
A good friend of his, Jill Diamon told the UK’s Guardian that he was very passionate about theatre and he himself was an exceptional performer.
In a Facebook post, the theatre group expressed their condolences on Geoffery’s passing.
In the post, it was said that Geoffery has given his utmost commitment to the theatrical group and his community in Thornbury.
“His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various offices within the group, including Chairman, Treasurer and most recently Secretary,” they said in the post.
Geoffery’s daughter Anna Proctor, expressed her admiration for her father, describing him as a kind, loving, and gentle man.
Singapore Airlines has expressed its condolences to Geoffery’s family and apologised for the traumatic experience of passengers and crew members on the flight.
The airline is providing necessary assistance and is working with authorities on the investigation into the incident.
In a recent update, Singapore Airlines said that five passengers on board SQ321 will return to Singapore today, while 74 passengers and six crew members remain in Bangkok, including those receiving medical care and their families.
There were also 16 Malaysians on board apart from various other nationalities.
The nationalities of the others were:
- 56 from Australia
- 47 from the United Kingdom
- 41 from Singapore
- 23 from New Zealand
- 5 from the Philippines
- 4 from Ireland
- 4 from the United States of America
- 3 from India
- 2 from Myanmar
- 2 from Indonesia
- 2 from Canada
- 2 from Spain
- 1 from Germany
- 1 from Iceland
- 1 from Israel
- 1 from South Korea
Speaking to Reuters, Malaysian student Dzafran Azmir recalled the chaos.
Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking
Dzafran Amir to Reuters
He said there was a “dramatic drop” which led to those not wearing a seatbelt while in their seats being “launched into the ceiling”.
He said some people hit their heads on the overhead baggage compartment and the panels holding the lights and masks.
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