In the lobby,four glassy-eyed but physically unharmed English children are waiting instructions from a minder about seeing their parents. Mum is upstairs with a snapped collarbone and two cracked vertebrae,they explain. Dad has something wrong with his chest.
A Spanish passenger is in a wheelchair pushed by his wife. They are supposed to be on their honeymoon. An Israeli man brings drinks for his 19-year-old daughter. She is supposed to be prepping for exams in Singapore.
South Londoner Josh Silverstone is on his way to meet friends in Bali,a journey he intends to complete.
He remembers theshudder of the plane and the dings of the seatbelt signs. “And then … boom!” It was the sound of bodies,including his own,crashing into the ceiling. The next few seconds are blank.
About 10 hours into the journey on Tuesday night (AEST),the plane hit unexpected turbulence over Myanmar’sIrrawaddy Basin,causing it to instantly lose altitude and tossing passengers moving about the aisles or without seatbelts buckled through the cabin.
Geoffrey Kitchen,a 73-year-old British man,died on the plane.