At least 27 passengers were injured on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Thailand when the plane suddenly hit a patch of severe turbulence on approach to Bangkok, officials said on Monday.
The aircraft encountered a severe pocket of “clean air” turbulence — so-called because there is no cloud warning — before landing just after midnight, the Russian national carrier said in a statement.
Twenty-four Russians and three Thais were hurt, with some suffering serious fractures and bruising, according to the statement by the Russian Embassy in Bangkok. Some passengers were not wearing seat belts, it said.
The head of the Russian embassy’s consular department Vladimir Sosnov told RIA Novosti news agency that some of the injured were undergoing operations but he could not give exact numbers. He added that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Russia state television Channel 1 said some passengers suffered multiple injuries. Thai police at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport did not respond to requests for comment.
Thailand has become a very popular destination for sun-seeking Russian tourists with dozens of flights a day from across the country. Numbers dropped off a few years back when the rouble weakened but they have since bounced back. Last year just over one million Russians visited the country.
