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A passenger is dead and more than two dozen are injured after a flight from the United Kingdom to Singapore was hit by "severe turbulence".
Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 took off from London Heathrow last night, but was diverted to Bangkok where it landed this afternoon, local time.
Authorities said the 73-year-old British man may have suffered a heart attack, though that has not been confirmed. His name was not immediately released.
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There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board as the plane dropped 6000 feet in a few minutes before being diverted to Bangkok, where emergency crews rushed to help injured passengers amid stormy weather.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Singapore Airlines said that as of four hours after the emergency landing "18 individuals have been hospitalised" and "another 12 are being treated in hospitals".
"The remaining passengers and crew are being examined and given treatment, where necessary," at the airport, it said.
The airline offered its "deepest condolences" to the British man's family and said its priority was to help all passenger and crew.
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One passenger told BBC Radio 5 Live the plane "suddenly dropped" and objects were thrown around.
"I was covered in coffee," Londoner Andrew Davies said.
"During the few seconds of the plane dropping there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud."
He said one woman near him was "screaming in agony" and had a "gash on her head".
Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 and analysed by The Associated Press showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet.
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Airports of Thailand group said the lightly injured and non-injured passengers are being assisted at a specially assigned location inside the terminal at the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Just after 8am London time (5pm AEST), the Boeing 777 suddenly and sharply pitched down to 31,000 feet over the span of three minutes, the data shows.
The aircraft stayed at 31,000 feet for just under 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok in just under half an hour.
The descent happened as the flight was over the Andaman Sea approaching Myanmar.
Photos of the aftermath show oxygen masks had been deployed.
Parts of the plane's ceiling also appear to have fallen.
Food trays and coffee pots are shown strewn on the galley floor.
The plane landed at 3.45pm (6.45pm AEST).
Emergency crews from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, about 20 kilometres away from Suvarnabhumi Airport, were on site to transfer injured passengers off the runway for treatment.
Videos posted on the LINE messaging platform by Suvarnabhumi Airport showed a line of ambulances streaming to the scene.
Singapore's Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat said he was "deeply saddened to learn about the incident," in a statement posted to his social media.
"Ministry of Transport, Singapore, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport officials as well as SIA [Singapore Airlines] staff are providing support to the affected passengers and their families," he said.
Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam issued a statement on his social media accounts, expressing "condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased."
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