Severe turbulence: MH01 passenger thought she was going to die

The Singaporean in her 50s, who only wanted to be known as Mary, said she felt the plane, an Airbus 380, going into a dive and then shooting upwards, describing the incident as most terrifying.

She said she had planned to spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur before heading back to Singapore and never expected to end up in a hospital.

Mary was not injured but was accompanying a Malaysian friend who suffered a hip injury in the incident.

"The turbulence lasted about five three minutes when we were about three hours before we were to land at KL International Airport (KLIA).

"I was sitting on the upper deck. When the plane experienced the turbulence, the cabin crew were just about to serve meals to the passengers. I saw the meal packages flying off the food cart," said Mary.

She added that she also saw a stewardess knock her head overhead before falling and hurting her knees.

An official from MAB, who did not want to elaborate on the total number of injured passengers and crew, however ensured the airline operator will issue statements from time to time to update on the situation.

Several Whatsapp messages are currently viral on the incident, with one claiming four passengers and six crew members were injured, while the 'other latest info' suggested 34 people in total were injured.

Meanwhile, about seven images are being shared on Facebook and the Whatsapp application, showing a food carts strewn across the floor and aisle, and the overhead units, which appear to be cracked.