Chittagong, Feb 24 (IBNS/UNI): A hijack attempt was made on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to Dubai during a stopover in Chittagong, media reports said.
All 142 passengers are safe and a suspect has been arrested bdnews.com said.
BG-147 was hijacked when it landed at Shah Amanat International Airport on Sunday afternoon, Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said.
“So far we know, an armed man pulled a gun at the pilot’s head. But all the passengers have disembarked. The pilot has also got off,“ he told bdnews24.com.
Security personnel surrounded the aircraft at the aircraft once the hijack attempt became known. The suspect had apparently wanted to speak to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
An airport official, seeking anonymity, told the UNI that a gunman tried to take command of the cockpit after the plane took off from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and forced the pilot to land at the Chittagong airport.
Shakil Meraj, the general manager (Public Relations) of the national flag carrier, confirmed the the UNI of the incident, and added that all passengers had safely disembarked after the plane landed. But according to media reports, the gunman and two crew members were still on it.
Police, Rapid Action Battalion and Armed Police Battalion cordoned off the area and have the plane surrounded on the runway. Operational activities at the airport were also suspended, while traffic on adjacent roads was either halted or diverted.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Mohibul Haque also told UNI over phone that all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, and a crew member was talking to the suspected hijacker.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told UNI that the hijacker had the pilot at gunpoint when the plane landed.
However, all passengers and the pilot made it out safely. We know this so far. But it is confirmed that the suspect is still in the plane. We are trying to find out why and how this happened, said the minister.
Meanwhile, Chittagong 8 MP and leader of a Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal faction Moin Uddin Khan Badal, who was also on the flight, told UNI that the hijacker had opened fire. The pilot told that this man, a Bangladeshi, fired a shot.
When the pilot pursued him, the hijacker said that he wanted to talk to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now the law enforcement agencies are trying to take him into custody, Badal said.
The Prime Minister was in Chittagong earlier in the day to inaugurate a development project.
A witness also said that they heard a gunshot when the pilots tried to stop the armed hijacker from entering the cockpit. The hijacker then claimed he was wearing a suicide vest and demanded a direct line of communication with the prime minister and senior government officials. Mohibul said they were yet to confirm whether anyone was shot on the plane.
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