5 Pinoys in turbulence-hit Singapore Airlines flight 'out of danger' —envoy

The five Filipinos who were on board the Singapore Airlines flight that experienced severe turbulence earlier this week are already "out of danger," Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Millicent Cruz-Paredes said Friday.

"The good news is they're out of danger," Cruz-Paredes said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview, adding she was able to visit the five in the hospitals where they are confined.

"Immediately after we were able to trace them, nadalaw ko naman sila sa ospital and doon ko na-confirm na they are out of danger," she said.

(Immediately after we were able to trace them, I visited them in the hospital and was able to confirm that they are out of danger.)

The five Filipinos were among the over 200 passengers of the London-to-Singapore flight SQ321 that hit heavy turbulence over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, May 21, and descended 6,000 feet or around 1,800 meters in about three minutes. (EXPLAINER: What is flight turbulence and why does it happen?)

The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to Cruz-Paredes, there is no word yet on when the Filipinos — two female and three male, including a two-year-old boy — will be discharged from the hospital as they are still being observed. She said the Filipinos were still complaining of body aches and one even sustained a head wound.

"Hindi pa sila nasabihan kung kailan puwede lumabas dahil sila ay still under observation pa," she said, adding one is in intensive care unit for "closer monitoring."

(They have not been told on when they could possibly be discharged because they are still under observation.)

Cruz-Paredes said the four of the Filipinos were on their way to the Philippines while one is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) based in Singapore.

Though the airlines will shoulder the medical bills of the injured passengers, the embassy is ready to extend any assistance to the injured Filipinos and their families.

Singapore Airlines did not say what type of turbulence was involved, but aviation experts suspect it to be clear-air turbulence, considered to be the most dangerous type of turbulence.

A 73-year-old British man who is believed to have suffered from heart attack died in the incident. More than 100 passengers were also injured, while 20 people were in intensive care in Bangkok hospitals. —KBK, GMA Integrated News