A passenger armed with a gun and claiming to have a bomb has taken a crew member hostage after trying to hijack a plane flying from Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dubai, according to reports.
The man tried to storm 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, it is said.
No injuries have been reported. But hijacker was spot dead by civil authority.
The hijacker was still on board the plane with at least one crew member hostage after the jet landed safely and was evacuated, local reports said.
The gunman allegedly opened fire on board flight BG147 and demanded to speak to the prime minister of Bangladesh as the drama unfolded on Sunday afternoon. Police immediately surrounded the Boeing 737 when it landed at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, and passengers, including a Bangladeshi MP, fled onto the tarmac.
A photo taken from inside the terminal shows dozens of people standing on the plane’s wing and others on the ground.
A lone gunman and at least one crew member were on the plane, according to aviation officials.
Bangladeshi MP Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal, who was on the plane, told that, a gunshot was fired on board the plane and the would be hijacker had demanded to speak to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A passenger, who wasn’t named, told the publication that they heard a gunshot on board the plane, and the hijacker claimed to have a bomb.
Civil Aviation Secretary Mohibul Haque told: “The pilot made the emergency landing. All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft.
Only the suspect and a cabin crew member are onboard. Commando units have surrounded the aircraft.
The plane was scheduled to make a quick stopover in Chittagong, on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh, after a half-hour flight from Dhaka, the capital, before carrying on to Dubai.
But the passenger tried to storm the cockpit and made demands shortly after take-off, it was reported.
The jet landed in Chittagong at about 5.40pm local time after an emergency was declared, and remained on the tarmac in the evening as it was surrounded by a rapid response team.