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.
A “madman” passenger armed with a gun and claiming to have a suicide vest was killed in a shootout with commandos after he hijacked a Dubai-bound plane.
All 148 passengers and crew on board the Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight BG147 disembarked safely.
Army officials said the man, believed to be aged 25, was initially wounded when shots were fired on Sunday but died shortly afterwards, AFP news agency reports.
“We tried to arrest him or get him to surrender but he refused and then we shot him,” Maj Gen Motiur Rahman told reporters.
“He is a Bangladeshi. We found a pistol from him and nothing else,” he added.
Earlier reports suggested that the suspect may have been mentally ill and had demanded to speak with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was visiting the coastal city of Chittagong.
The man opened fire as he tried to enter the cockpit of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane while it was in the air, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
The hijacker had the pilots at gunpoint when the plane, carrying 142 passengers from Dhaka, landed safely.
The gunman remained on board with at least one crew member after the jet was evacuated.
Army commandos stormed the aircraft after the man refused to surrender during an hours-long siege and he was fatally shot as they rescued the crew member.
A lone gunman and at least one crew member were on the plane as security forces tried to negotiate with the suspect, according to aviation officials.
Mahfuzul Alam, Biman’s station manager at the airport, told bdnews24.com that the plane had been hijacked.
He said: “The flight has been hijacked. I cannot say anything more at the moment.”
