The plummet was caused by extreme turbulence, which occurred on Monday evening (20th May). Flight SQ321 left London Heathrow at 10:17pm, but experienced turbulence over Myanmar, above the Andaman Sea off of Thailand’s coast.

Mia Stevenson, a 22-year-old student was “frozen with terror” in her seat, whilst 37,000ft in the air.

Sadly, there was one death after the accident, Geoffrey Kitchen, who was 73 years old. According to a spokesperson from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport where the plane was diverted, Geoffrey was suspected to have had a heart attack mid-flight, the Mirror reports.

Mia was admitted to the hospital after her horrific experience. Whilst in her hospital bed, she told MailOnline: “I was partially asleep and the next thing I remember is I just flew upwards and crashed into the ceiling and then fell down really hard into the aisle.

“It was over in seconds and I didn’t know what was going on. I was very confused and just froze. I couldn’t understand what had happened. It was terrifying and I was shocked.”

Mia was taken to a hospital in Singapore after the captain regained control of the plane and landed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The student continued to tell her story of the incident, adding: “I hit my head really hard on the ceiling and had a lot of pain and throbbing. I’ve also had some X-rays but so far everything seems to be OK, and I’ve been given the all-clear by the doctors but the pain has not gone.”

She added she was “lucky” her experience was not more serious, as many other passengers’ unfortunately were. Over 80 passengers were sent to the hospital with her, whilst 131 passengers and crew well enough arrived safely at Singapore’s Changi Airport early on Wednesday morning (22nd May).

Another traveller, 24-year-old Jon Silverstone, also spoke about his injuries on the flight. He said: “I’ve only a cut in my eye and a chipped tooth, it could be way worse. Everything was fine until I arrived back at the airport and I couldn’t stop vomiting. I couldn’t walk, it was pretty bad.

“I woke up on the floor, I didn’t realise what happened, I must’ve hit my head somewhere. There were people laying out on the floor.”

According to Singapore Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, officers from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau have arrived in Bangkok. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has also sent a representative with four technical advisors to investigate the incident involving a Boeing plane, to discover how the severe turbulence sent the plane into a sudden plummet.

In response to this incident, Singapore Airlines said in a statement: “A Singapore Airlines team from Singapore has arrived in Bangkok to support our colleagues and the local authorities on the ground. We are providing all possible assistance to the passengers and crew on board SQ321, both at the hospital and the airport.”

Featured image via Martin Widenka on Unsplash & Mia Stevenson on Facebook. 

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The group stormed into the VC’s reception in New York, an annual event with Bristol alumni in the United States featuring various professors giving academic talks.

The individuals held up signs saying: “University of Bristol: Ban Animal Torture” and “Bristol Uni: Drop the Forced Swim Tests” whilst chanting their demands to the VC.

PETA supporters recorded their ambush, which was posted by PETA UK to X the following morning:

The activists demand that the university stops “useless swim test experiments.”

They said that: “Animals suffer in cages until the day they are snatched out, into inescapable beakers of water where they are forced to swim.

“When the experiment is done they’re killed.”

Another member added: “Not one animal leaves it out of the laboratory alive.”

This controversy surrounding animal cruelty has been protested on university grounds recently, as a PETA supporter dressed as a scientist took to Beacon House to advocate for ending the force swim tests.

These science experiments, condemned by 400 academics and scientists, are carried out to measure the rodents’ response to stress, as they frantically try and escape from the beakers of water.

The New York protesters continued to chant at the VC, pleading: “University of Bristol to ban the near drowning experiment and embrace superior animal research.

“Evelyn Welch, please we’re begging you to stop this experiment.”

The university has carried out these experiments since 2008, however, the Home Office have stated they intend to ban the practice in the UK in the near future.

The activists continue to stress that: “These mice and rats suffer. When are you going to stop? Animals have feelings.”

“It’s not science, it’s violence” was repeated throughout the demonstration, which only lasted about a minute before members of the meeting encouraged the individuals to stop and leave. 

At the end of the video uploaded by PETA, the protestors finished by saying: “Evelyn, how do you justify torturing animals for useless science tests? They’re useless, please stop. Please have the University of Bristol stop.”

During these chants, the VC remained silent and refused to answer or address the issue.

These continuous protests are also a result of Bristol University turning down a £24,000 donation from PETA to end the forced swim tests. They reason that it “would compromise their academic freedom.”

This same ambush on the VC happened when Evelyn was last in New York, in May 2023, about these same “cruel” animal practices.

A spokesperson from the University of Bristol said: “We recognise there are differing views about the use of animals in research, including some concerns around whether it is ethical.

“The University of Bristol has a successful track record of translating scientific discoveries into real-world advances. The majority of our biomedical research uses non-animal methods for example computer models, cells grown in the laboratory or human volunteers.

“When these methods are not suitable to address the scientific gaps, and therefore only when absolutely necessary, we use animals in research to improve our understanding of health and disease in both humans and animals. This includes cardiovascular and cancer research, diseases associated with infection and immunity and, in the case of forced swimming, advances in the understanding of stress-related disorders.

“We are committed to a culture of openness and transparency regarding the research carried out here and make publicly available short summaries of all the projects approved at the university. Details relating to the number of animals used annually and case studies illustrating the types of research undertaken are provided on the university’s website. We keep up to date with the latest thinking on all aspects of research using animals (including advances in welfare) and have robust and thorough ethical review processes in place for every project.”

They also wish to clarify that the university does not use forced swimming procedures to model depression or to screen for antidepressants.

The purpose of the research carried out in Bristol is to study the neurobiology of stress. The Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) for the university has reviewed the proposed research and provided ethical approval because non-animal alternatives do not exist, and the work is important in building our fundamental understanding of the effects of stress on the brain.

The research programme is also peer-reviewed by the Grant awarding body. The conclusions of the AWERB are aligned with the recent Animal Sciences Committee report on forced swimming and the response to this report by Lord Sharpe.

More information, specifically about the use of the forced swim test can be found on the Bristol University website.

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The students gathered to protest Bristol University’s links to arms companies which supply Israel during the ongoing conflict in Palestine. They are hoping other students will join as the protest continues.

Their location in the Royal Fort Gardens is visible to anyone walking on campus, creating an “educational space” encouraging participation from students.

The group, on Instagram @bristoloccupy4palestine, spoke to The Bristol Tab this morning, telling us it will stay indefinitely until the “university pledges to divest from arms companies, call for an immediate ceasefire and involve students in their partnerships.”

The group aims to increase student democracy on campus. They plan on having an open dialogue with any student who joins them to put forward ideas for the betterment of the university in support of Palestine.

A member of the group said: “We’re steering clear of sort of asserting too many demands ourselves so that we can have it sort of be fleshed out in a more democratic way.”

For the process of asserting their finalised demands, they will host in-person and online forums of discussion to allow any students to be involved even if they do not feel comfortable joining the encampment.

The group plans to host events such as banner-making, fundraisers, talks and know-your-rights training. They hope to get this up and running by Friday.

Credit: Bristol Occupy for Palestine

The same group took part in the Victoria Rooms and executive management building occupations last month. These were ended after the university served them with a possession order and they left to avoid having to stand in court.

Students and staff also penned an open letter to the Vice Chancellor, Evelyn Welch, in November, calling for the university to cut ties with arms companies, which you can read here.

In response to the encampment, a spokesperson from the University of Bristol said: “We are aware that a group has set up several tents in Royal Fort Gardens. We fully respect the rights of our students to peacefully protest within the law.”

The university did not give a response regarding its ties to arms companies.

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Mollie Chapman proudly stood in her Bristol University robes outside the Wills Memorial Building last Friday (23rd February) with her grandma and auntie by her side, knowing that her mum and dad were looking down on her with overwhelming pride.

Mollie graduated with her auntie and grandma by her side (via SWNS)

The 24-year-old, from Yatton, Somerset, studied for a PGCE (a teacher training qualification) during her time in Bristol and is currently teaching English to secondary school pupils.

Now fulfilling her dream of becoming a teacher, Mollie is particularly enjoying the opportunity to connect with those who have also had tough starts in life.

When Mollie was born, her father, Pete Chapman, who was being cared for a few corridors away in the leukaemia ward, was wheeled in on his bed to hold his baby daughter.

Mollie was only 18 months old when her dad passed way (via SWNS)

Pete unfortunately died 18 months after her birth, leaving Mollie’s mum, Jane Chapman, to raise two young children.

Speaking about her mum, Mollie said: “She’s my absolute hero. She worked full-time with a one-year-old and a three-year-old. As I got older, I realised that she sacrificed everything for us, it must have been so tough for her, she was such a trooper.”

In 2012, just as Mollie was beginning secondary school, Jane was sadly diagnosed with breast cancer.

Despite being told that she only had a year to live, she battled hard against her illness, desperate to see her children grow up and take on life’s challenges.

“My mum was a fighter, and she knew that she wanted to see us through school and hopefully university,” said Molly.

“She managed to see the days we both got our GCSEs, A-levels and enrolled in university, and I think there was a part of us that thought she would see the day that we graduated too. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be the case for us.”

Mollie described her mum as a ‘fighter’ (via SWNS)

After eight years of battling cancer, Mollie’s mum died in 2020, aged 54, after being admitted to St Peter’s Hospice in North Bristol.

Mollie said: “She passed in her sleep and found her place in heaven to be reunited with my dad after 19 years apart.”

Reflecting on graduating from Bristol, she added: “Mum knew I wanted to be a teacher, and I know she’d be proud of me. It’s a really big achievement, and she’s been a real inspiration to me. She’d be thinking ‘that’s my girl’, for sure!

“I have faced a lot of adversity in my short time on the planet, but I have never let that get in my way of achieving every single thing that I believe is within my reach – and if it’s not within my reach, I’ve got two angels who can give it a kick down to me to help me out.”

Professor Tansy Jessop, the University of Bristol’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students, said: “Mollie’s success is testament to her courage in the face of adversity. It’s not only her mum and dad who would be ‘insanely proud of her’ – we are too.

“We salute her determination and character and wish her everything of the best in her teaching career!”

Featured image via SWNS. 

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