Biman Airlines Flight Forced to Make Landing Over Hijacking Threat

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Chittagong on Sunday after a hijacking attempt by a passenger. The unnamed passenger was shot dead upon arrival in Chittagong and all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated from the flight.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Chittagong on Sunday after a hijacking attempt by a passenger, AP reports.

The flight, which was bound for Dubai via Chittagong, had departed Dhaka at 4:35 p.m. local time. However, it was forced to make an emergency landing around 40 minutes after its departure from the Bangladeshi capital after a crew member spotted a male passenger acting suspiciously.

The news agency adds that, according to information released by ATN TV News, the unnamed suspected reportedly shot at the commandos that had surrounded the plane after he was told to surrender. The commandos then returned fire, killing the man.

In a live broadcast aired on a local news channel, Air Vice Marshal Mofidur Rahman confirmed that all of the flight’s 143 passengers as well as seven members of the crew had been evacuated safely from the plane, a Boeing 737-800.

During this broadcast, Rahman also referred to the gunman, who is thought to be a Bangladeshi citizen, as a “terrorist.”

An official with the nation’s army also explained that he had requested to speak to his wife, as well as Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

According to Air Vice Marshal M. Naim Hassan, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the gunman was “mentally imbalanced.” “I am saying this because of his behavior. He wanted to talk to the prime minister,” he was quoted as saying.

This incident, which occurred at Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP), was captured on live TV.

[Source: Biman Bangladesh Airlines]