'I hit my head on the ceiling... some ended up doing somersault': Singapore Airlines flyers recount their turbulent experience onboard

A British man said as quoted by India Today, "It went from no turbulence... no plane shaking at all, and then I hit the roof. All of a sudden, I was up like that. My son was thrown down on the floor two rows behind me. I heard that there was a guy hitting the roof in the toilet and he was injured quite badly, too."

68-year-old Jerry, who hit his head on the ceiling, was on the way to Australia for his son's wedding.

"I hit my head on the ceiling, my wife did - some poor people who were walking around ended up doing somersaults," he said.

A 28-year-old student told Reuters, "People from across the aisle went completely horizontal, hitting the ceiling and landing back down in really awkward positions."

"Everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling, some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it."

Andrew Davies, a British passenger, said it was "severe turbulence". "The thing I remember the most is seeing objects and things flying through the air. I was covered in coffee," Davies said.

A British person, who died after the Singapore Airlines flight was hit by severe turbulence, was named as Geoff Kitchen.

A retired insurance professional turned amateur dramatics performer, Kitchen's Thornbury Musical Theatre Group mourned his death and posted on its website: "It is with a heavy heart that we learn of the devastating news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend Geoff Kitchen in the recent Singapore Air Incident."

He reportedly died due to a suspected heart attack after the flight suffered a sudden drop in altitude.

A British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson told BBC it was supporting the family of the passenger, and was in contact with local authorities.

He was travelling on the flight from London to Singapore along with 211 passengers and 18 crew members.

Kitchen and his wife, Linda, were to stop over en route to Australia, where they planned to enjoy a six-week holiday, neighbours told the Guardian.

Jill Dimond, a close friend and neighbour, told the newspaper: “He was a well-loved man. He was clever, funny, a fantastic performer, deeply caring about theatre. It was his passion.”

Singapore Airlines CEO issues public apology

"Our deepest apology to everyone affected by this incident," CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a video statement.

At least one passenger died and 70 others were injured in the incident.