Bangladesh foils plane hijack attempt, passengers safe

Bangladesh security officials on Sunday foiled a hijacking attempt of a Dubai-bound plane, which made an emergency landing at a coastal city in the country following the incident, officials said.

Security forces stormed the plane and detained the lone hijacker and evacuated all the passengers safely, they said.

The state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight BG-147, which was on its way to Dubai from Dhaka via Chattogram, landed at the Chattogram airport at around 5:40 pm.

Eyewitnesses said minutes after the craft flew from the Chattogram airport, it returned and made an emergency landing and opened the emergency exit through which the passengers disembarked immediately. The captain and the first officer of the flight also came out later.

Though the identity of the hijacker is yet to be known, according to unconfirmed reports the hijacker was a foreign national and was equipped with a handgun.