A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, following a reported hijack attempt. Following the emergency landing, the plane was immediately surrounded by law enforcement.
Military commandos shot dead passenger who tried to hijack Dubai-bound flight after threatening to blow up the plane.
A Bangladeshi man who was shot dead after he tried to hijack a plane had been carrying a toy gun and did not have any explosives on him, police said on Monday.
The 25-year-old was shot and later died of his wounds after taking a crew member hostage on the Biman Airlines jet, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Chittagong airport late Sunday.
Some 134 passengers and 14 crew were released unharmed after an operation that lasted barely 10 minutes.
Airport manager Wing Commander Sarwar-e-Jaman said the hijacker was “psychologically imbalanced”.
“The reason he gave for the hijack was that he had troubles with his wife and he wanted to talk to the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina,” Sarwar told AFP.
The man — named only as Mahadi — reportedly wielded a gun in the cabin and tried to storm the cockpit, forcing an emergency landing.
The passenger had tried to enter the cockpit of a state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight after waving a gun and threatening to blow up the plane, airline and aviation authority officials said.
“The pistol with the suspect was a toy pistol and he had no bomb attached to his body,” Kusum Dewan, additional commissioner of police in the southeastern city of Chittagong told Reuters news agency.
The flight left the capital Dhaka at 4:35pm, heading for Dubai.
About 40 minutes after taking off, the pilot made an emergency landing in Chittagong after a crew member reported “suspicious behaviour” by the man, said Rezaul Karim, an official with the Bangladeshi military’s inter-service public affairs office.
The passenger, identified by the name “Mahadi” and described by officials as a 25-year-old Bangladeshi man, died from his injuries sustained after the commandos stormed the plane before reaching the hospital.
All 143 passengers and seven crew members on board the Boeing 737-800 were safely evacuated.
