BANGKOK, Thailand (NewsNation) — The 73-year-old man who died on a Singapore Airlines flight after the plane encountered severe turbulence and dropped approximately 6,000 feet instantly Tuesday has been identified.

Geoff Kitchen, 73, was identified as the passenger who was killed during Tuesday’s incident, the Thornbury Musical Theatre Group confirmed.

“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,” the theater confirmed.

Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group. His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years, holding various offices within the group, including Chairman, Treasurer and most recently Secretary.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and the family at this difficult time, and we ask that you respect their privacy.”

Thornbury Musical Theatre Group

Suvarnabhumi Airport General Manager Kittipong Kittikachorn said during a news conference Tuesday that Kitchen died during the incident, likely due to a heart attack.

‘Sudden extreme turbulence’

Flight SQ321 experienced “sudden extreme turbulence” flying over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet, the airline said. The region experienced extreme tropical thunderstorms, which caused severe turbulence and prompted the emergency landing about 10 hours after the flight’s departure.

In addition to Kitchen’s death, more than 70 people were injured during the incident. Per the airline, there were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on the plane.

According to the airline, the nationalities of the passengers are as follows:

• 56 from Australia
• 2 from Canada
• 1 from Germany
• 3 from India
• 2 from Indonesia
• 1 from Iceland
• 4 from Ireland
• 1 from Israel
• 16 from Malaysia
• 2 from Myanmar
• 23 from New Zealand
• 5 from the Philippines
• 41 from Singapore
• 1 from South Korea
• 2 from Spain
• 47 from the United Kingdom
• 4 from the United States

Passengers said the cabin crew was in the middle of serving food when the pilots turned on the fasten seat belt sign. Near instantly, the plane dropped about 6,000 feet.

“The plane just dropped, an extremely surreal experience. I remember vividly objects, people’s belongings, cushions, tea cups, plates, you name it, just hurtling through the cabin,” passenger Andrew Davies said.

Davies continued, “My heart goes out to the gentleman who lost his life and his poor wife. Awful experience.”

Singapore Airlines said the pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok.