BANGKOK (AP) — One person has died aboard a London-Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence, Singapore Airlines said Tuesday, in which the plane apparently plummeted for a number of minutes before it was diverted to Bangkok, where emergency crews rushed to help injured passengers amid stormy weather.

The Boeing 777-300ER, with a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board, landed in Bangkok at 3:45 p.m. (0845 GMT), the airline said in a Facebook post.

Tracking data captured by FlightRadar24 and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,300 meters). Just after 0800 GMT, the Boeing 777 suddenly and sharply pitched down to 31,000 feet (9,400 meters) over the span of some three minutes, the data shows.

The aircraft stayed at 31,000 feet (9,400 meters) 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.

Emergency crews from Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from Suvarnabhumi Airport, were on site to transfer injured passengers from Flight SQ321 from Heathrow 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 Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” the airline said. “We are working with the local authorities in Thailand to provide the necessary medical assistance, and sending a team to Bangkok to provide any additional assistance needed.”

• Australia and New Zealand have sent planes to evacuate citizens stranded in violence-hit New Caledonia.
• Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed clearance from French authorities for two evacuation flights from the archipelago.
• A Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules landed in Noumea, the capital, with a capacity to carry 124 passengers.

Australia and New Zealand sent airplanes to New Caledonia on Tuesday to begin bringing home stranded citizens from the violence-wracked French South Pacific territory.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had received clearance from French authorities for two flights to evacuate citizens from the archipelago, where indigenous people have long sought independence from France.

Hours later, a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules touched down in Noumea, the capital. The plane can carry 124 passengers, according to the Defense Department.

FRENCH SECURITY REINFORCEMENTS EASE VIOLENT UNREST IN NEW CALEDONIA

“We continue to work on further flights,” Wong wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said 300 Australians were in New Caledonia. It did not immediately confirm whether the Australian-organized flights would also evacuate other stranded foreign nationals, believed to number in the thousands.

New Zealand’s government also announced that it had sent a plane to New Caledonia to begin evacuating about 50 of its citizens.

“New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days — and bringing them home has been an urgent priority for the government,” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In cooperation with France and Australia, we are working on subsequent flights in coming days.”

FRANCE GRAPPLES TO REGAIN CONTROL OF VIOLENT UNREST IN NEW CALEDONIA AS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 4

Noumea’s international airport remains closed to commercial flights. Its reopening will be reassessed on Thursday.

At least six people have died and hundreds more have been injured since violence erupted last week in New Caledonia following controversial electoral reforms passed in Paris.

About 270 suspected rioters have been arrested as of Tuesday, and a 6 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew is in effect for the archipelago of about 270,000 people, which is a popular tourist destination with its idyllic beaches and climate.

France has sent in over a thousand security personnel, with hundreds more due to arrive Tuesday, to try to quell the unrest and restore control.

Armed clashes, looting, arson and other violence turned parts of Noumea into no-go zones. Columns of smoke billowed into the sky, hulks of burned cars littered roads, businesses and shops were ransacked and buildings became smoking ruins.

There have been decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks who are seeking independence and descendants of colonizers who want to remain part of France.

The unrest erupted May 13 as the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French Constitution to make changes to New Caledonia voter lists. The National Assembly in Paris approved a bill that would, among other changes, allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to cast ballots in provincial elections.

Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize Kanaks who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.

Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in the latest public display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners.

Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defence systems as Ukraine’s depleted troops are trying to hold off a fierce Russian offensive along the eastern border in a critical phase of the war. 

“The Russian attacks are directly targeted at the civilian infostructure. Infrastructure like electricity is what you need for daily life, and air defence is so important, but we still need way more air defence because some of the rockets and missiles could be brought down by air defence, but obviously not all of them,” Baerbock said in Kyiv.

“It’s directly and strategically a direct attack on infrastructure to enable the life and survival here in Ukraine, and this is why I am calling worldwide to increase the air defence support, but also to increase support for reconstruction.”

Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US. In 2023, it provided around €5 billion in military assistance.

Recently, Berlin pledged a third US-made Patriot battery for Ukraine as Kyiv faces a shortfall of air defences against the ongoing Russian onslaught. 

The country has been resisting appeals from Ukrainian officials to provide Ukraine with the coveted Taurus missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometres. 

Amongst other reasons, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has claimed that these would involve sending troops directly into Ukraine, which would encourage a direct retaliation from Russia. 

Ukraine’s ability to defend itself ‘compromised’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that air defence systems are needed more than ever as the Kremlin’s forces focus their efforts on the eastern Donetsk province and the northeastern Kharkiv region.

“These US and Western policies are severely compromising Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against current Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv (region) or any area along the international border where Russian forces may choose to conduct offensive operations in the future,” the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment late Monday.

Regarding Ukraine’s prospective EU membership, Baerbock said that Ukraine joining the bloc would be “the necessary geopolitical consequence of Russia’s illegal war of aggression.”

Ukraine has made “impressive progress” and must not let up on reforms to the judicial system, fighting corruption and media freedom, Baerbock stated.

Germany is set to host a reconstruction conference for Ukraine next month as it looks to help rebuild the country following the war.