5 Pinoys aboard Singapore Airlines flight injured

THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the five Filipinos on board the Singapore Airlines that hit “extreme turbulence” and made an emergency landing in Thailand are now hospitalized in Bangkok.

“Regarding the query on the five Filipinos affected in the SQ Flight 321, we received information from PE-BKK (Philippine Embassy in Bangkok) that they are still in a hospital in Bangkok. Our Embassy is in touch with them,” DFA Spokesperson Teresita C. Daza said in a WhatsApp message to reporters.

A later report from the Department of Migrant Workers’ Office in Singapore said they were taken to different hospitals for treatment and have been declared in stable condition.

The Filipino passengers included a family of three with a two-year-old male infant. “The infant’s mother is a registered overseas Filipino worker (OFW) staff nurse in the United Kingdom (UK). Her husband has no record as an OFW,” it said.

It said the fourth passenger is a female Singapore-based OFW in the information technology sector who suffered a neck fracture. “Doctors describe her condition as ‘sensitive’ but stable,” the DMW office in Singapore said.

The fifth Filipino passenger is a male who has no record as an OFW.

The flight was enroute to Singapore from London when it encountered “sudden extreme turbulence” 10 hours into its flight, forcing an emergency landing.

A British man died, while 79 passengers were injured. – Chloe Mari A. Hufana ���Ի���John Victor D. Ordoñez