Rockland County couple injured on turbulent Singapore Airlines flight that left 1 dead

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Rockland County couple suffer bad injuries following turbulent flight
North Haverstraw's Drew Kessler on Facebook said he broke his back and his wife suffered a broken back from the flight's turbulence.

NORTH HAVERSTRAW, Rockland County (WABC) -- A Rockland County family says they were seriously injured while aboard the Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence earlier this week.

Drew Kessler, his wife and two sons, who are from North Haverstraw, were aboard the SQ321 flight from London to Singapore on Tuesday when it encountered the severe turbulence. The flight made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

Kessler said in a Facebook post that he has a broken neck and his wife Vicki suffered a broken back. Their sons were not injured.

Kessler is the Treasurer of Rotary International and the family was on their way to the Rotary International Convention to join more than 13,000 people from 120 countries attending the membership service organization's annual gathering in Singapore.

Officials said 85 passengers from the flight were transported to various hospitals in Bangkok, while 19 received treatment for injuries. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board the flight.

A 73-year-old British citizen identified as Geoff Kitchen was killed during the incident.

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