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24th Feb 2019

Plane carrying 142 passengers makes emergency landing after ‘attempted hijacking’

Kyle Picknell

Army and police officers surrounded the plane after it was forced to land.

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Bangladesh to Dubai made an emergency landing after an ‘attempted hijacking’, according to reports.

Shakil Miraj, the airline’s general manager, says army and police officers surrounded the plane after it was forced to land on Sunday at 17:40 local time.

The flight was carrying 142 passengers into the United Arab Emirates, but was forced to land on the Bangladeshi coastal city of Chittagong instead. Journalist Manoj Gupta said a passenger armed with a gun tried to ‘storm the cockpit’ of the aircraft.

As reported by the Dhaka Tribune, an anonymous airport official corroborated Gupta’s version of events, saying a gunman tried to take control of the cockpit after the flight took off from the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Air Force official Mofidur Rahman told reporters there were no casualties of the 142 passengers.

Miraj confirmed that all of the passengers were safely removed from the aeroplane. He also stated that the pilot was advised to make an emergency landing by one of the plane’s cabin crew, who spotted a passenger acting suspiciously during the flight.

The Times of India confirmed that the suspect has been arrested after Bangladesh police and army officers stormed the plane.

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