Suspected Bangladesh plane hijacker shot dead: army
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 15:25 GMT, 24 February 2019 | UPDATED: 16:10 GMT, 24 February 2019
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The suspect was shot as special forces rushed the Bangladesh Biman flight BG147 after it landed safely in Chittagong
Bangladesh commandos stormed a passenger jet in the country's southeast Sunday and shot dead an armed man who allegedly tried to hijack the Dubai-bound flight, an army official said.
The suspect, described by officials as a Bangladeshi man in his mid 20s, was shot as special forces rushed the plane after it landed safely in Chittagong.
The 134 passengers and 14 crew aboard the Bangladesh Biman flight BG147 were all rescued unharmed, officials said.
But the suspected hijacker -- identified by the name "Mahadi" and described as being 25 or 26 years old -- was injured and died shortly after being arrested, said army spokesman Major General Motiur Rahman.
"Our commando team asked the hijacker to surrender, but he rejected it by being aggressive, and was shot," Rahman told reporters.
"Later on we learnt he had died... We found a pistol from him and nothing else."
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The 148 passengers and crew aboard the flight were all rescued unharmed and Chittagong's Shah Amanat International Airport has been sealed off, officials said
The airport was sealed off by Army, Navy and elite police after landing to collect more passengers from Dhaka on its journey to Dubai.
"Just ten minutes after the plane took off (from Dhaka) he fired twice," one passenger told reporters in Chittagong.
Air Vice Marshall Mofid, who goes by one name, said he kept the accused man busy talking on the phone while special forces units prepared for the dramatic raid.
"He demanded to speak to our Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina)," Mofid said.
"He claimed he had a pistol, but we are not sure yet whether it is an actual gun or a fake."
- 'Psychologically deranged' -
The operation took less than 10 minutes and the plane has been searched and declared worthy to fly again, Rahman said.
The country's civil aviation chief, Nayeem Hasan, earlier said the suspect had claimed to have a bomb aboard the flight.
"From the talks and dialogue we have with him, it seems he is psychologically deranged," Hasan said after the man was arrested.
Another army spokesman, Abdullah Ibne Zaid, said Chittagong's Shah Amanat International Airport was "very much under control of the Bangladesh Army".
"The army's special forces conducted the operation and the armed man has been neutralised," he said.
Rahman said an investigation would be conducted into how the man "passed airport security details with a gun".
"It will take some time," he said.
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 165 million, has struggled to grapple with homegrown extremism in recent years, including the murder of atheist bloggers and progressive activists by Islamist outfits.
In a deadly attack claimed by the Islamic State group in 2016, militants killed 22 people including 18 foreigners at an upmarket cafe in Dhaka popular with Westerners.
That attack prompted a swift crackdown by Prime Minister Hasina, with hundreds of suspected militants and their sympathisers arrested or killed in raids across the country.
Terrifying hijack drama as 'gunman storms cockpit and threatens to bomb Dubai-bound Bangladesh Airlines plane' before it makes emergency landing with 142 passengers on board
- Passenger on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight tried to storm the plane's cockpit
- Flight made an emergency landing at airport in Chittagong, Bangladesh
- All 142 passengers were evacuated and the 25-year-old suspect shot dead
A 25-year-old who tried to hijack a Bangladesh Airlines flight to Dubai, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing, was shot dead by security forces.
Bangladeshi special forces stormed Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG 147, which was on its way to the UAE from Dhaka, after a passenger claimed to have a gun and a bomb.
The suspect, who is believed to have been 'psychologically deranged,' fired a gun twice while attempting to hijack the plane, according to one passenger.
A passenger on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight bound for Dubai tried to storm the cockpit with a gun. The plane is pictured
'Just ten minutes after the plane took off he fired twice,' the passenger told The Straits Times.
Army and police officials cordoned off the aircraft and after an attempt to talk to the suspected hijacker was met with aggression he was shot.
The suspect later died, according to AFP news agency.
'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.
After a member of crew noticed a passenger was acting suspiciously the flight made an emergency landing in the Bangladeshi coastal city of Chittagong.
All 142 passengers disembarked from the flight safely.
Army and police officers have cordoned off the aircraft and tried talking to the suspected hijacker. It is not yet clear why the suspect tried to take control of the plane.
'We have successfully rescued everyone,' said Air Vice Marshall Mofid, who goes by one name, after security forces stormed the plane and shot a 25-year-old man for attempting to hijack flight BG147 which had taken off from the capital Dhaka.
The plane landed safely at Chittagong airport in southeastern Bangladesh, where the passengers were evacuated.
Army, Navy and elite police cordoned off the plane after it landed.
The country's civil aviation chief Nayeem Hasan earlier said the suspect had claimed to have a bomb.
'From the talks and dialogue we have with him, it seems he is psychologically deranged,' Hasan said after the man was arrested.
Police have described the drama as an 'untoward incident' and have not confirmed that the incident was a highjacking.
Civil Aviation Secretary Mohibul Haque said a cabin crew member raised alarm finding the behavior of a passenger suspicious. The scene at the airport is pictured
