British dance teacher left paralyzed from the waist down after being catapulted into lockers when Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 was hit by extreme turbulence

A British woman who was seriously injured on a Singapore Airlines flight has been left paralyzed from the waist down, her husband announced today.

Dance teacher Kerry Jordan has suffered a ‘life-changing injury’ after being catapulted into the lockers after the Boeing 777 was hit by extreme turbulence during his flight from London.

She is recovering at Samittivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, where she is expected to remain for several weeks after undergoing emergency surgery.

Jordan, who is originally from Appledore in Devon, was heading home to Adelaide in Australia with her husband Keith Davis after a holiday in Britain.

She is a permanent resident of Australia and emigrated as a child.

Davis, 59, revealed that his wife ‘doesn’t sit in a big room’ and said that when the plane suddenly dropped altitude, she was thrown from her seat

The interior of Singapore Airline Flight SG321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, May 21

Davis, 59, revealed that his wife is “not in a large space” and said that when the plane suddenly dropped altitude, she was thrown from her seat into an overhead locker and landed in the aisle where she remained until the flight moved to Bangkok.

“She had emergency surgery as soon as we were admitted and she continues to have no feeling from the waist down, so it’s pretty life-changing,” Davis said from his hospital bed.

His wife is one of 22 people who suffered back injuries during the incident. Ten British passengers – the largest number – remain in hospital.

Among them is the widow of Geoff Kitchen, a former theater director who was the only fatality on the plane.

It is believed the 73-year-old suffered a heart attack.

The Kitchens from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, were in the queue in front of Mr Davis and his wife.

Describing the scene of chaos and terror, Mr Davis said: ‘We’ve just fallen into a huge hole and we’re going into freefall and of course straight up into the ceiling.

Kerry is recovering at Samittivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, where she is expected to remain for several weeks after undergoing emergency surgery

‘I went with my head forward. We were in the middle section, so I was right in the middle and I went up through the vent and masks and stuff. Unfortunately for Kerry, she hit the baggage doors.

‘Instead of landing back on the seat, she fell flat in the aisle and from then on she didn’t move. She stayed there for the rest of the flight.

‘It’s horrible. I remember leaning over her and her breathing. She could communicate, she was very weak.

Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a suspected heart attack on the plane and eventually died

‘I remember feeling her breath, talking and realizing I was dripping blood into her dress. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to ruin her dress.’

Davis was pictured wheeling into a hospital coffee shop wearing a green gown and a large white bandage around his head. He had a black eye and swelling on his cheek.

Mr Davis said it would be a matter of weeks before his wife could fly back to their home in Australia, with the airline arranging for their daughter to fly to Bangkok.

His wife is a former head of dance at Scotch College in Adelaide.

Her husband has previously said his wife was born in Britain and emigrated to Australia as a child.

Thai authorities say 40 people from the flight remain in hospital, with 22 being treated for back injuries.

Six patients are also being treated for skull and brain injuries.

After the incident, an injured person is carried off the plane in a stretcher

Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, said the oldest patient at the hospital is 83 years old and the youngest is a two-year-old child who suffered a concussion.

Hospital authorities in Bangkok said three British passengers from the flight to Singapore were discharged overnight.

Seven are still in hospital and receiving treatment, including Geoff Kitchen’s widow.

Hospital chiefs said people with back injuries will remain in hospital for several weeks.