The purported hijacker who was killed after army commando stormed the Biman Bangladesh aircraft at Chattogram airport “seemed to be mentally imbalanced”, says the civil aviation authority chief.
“The suspect said he had a personal issue with his wife and demanded to speak to the prime minister, but he did not take any passenger or crew member as hostage,” Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman M Naim Hassan told the media in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He said the suspect was in possession of a pistol and appeared to have explosives as he was wearing wired clothes.
“We have been informed that the suspect appeared to be mentally imbalanced.”
Army commandoes shot and killed the suspect— identified as Mehedi, who had tried to enter the cockpit of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Sunday, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram.
“The prime minister was informed as the event unfolded and the operation was conducted according to her instructions,” said CAAB chief Hassan.
According to him, the commando operation started at 7.17pm and ended eight minutes later at 7.25pm. “The hijacker pulled out from the aircraft in an injured state. He was declared dead after being taken to the hospital.”
A probe will be opened to find out how the suspect broke the security barriers to get on the plane, added Hassan.
Before the commandos moved in, all 134 passengers and 14 crew members, except one, on board the Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 aircraft had been let off unharmed.
The crew member who had been kept as hostage also got off the plane later before the commando raid began.