A Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane skidded off the runway in Yangon International Airport yesterday.
Shakil Meraj, general manager of public relations for Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said that the S2-AGQ - Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 skidded off the runway while landing around 6:22pm due to bad weather.
A total of 19 people, including a child and the plane’s two pilots, were injured and taken to a clinic of the airport for treatment, according to officials of Biman and Bangladesh mission in Myanmar.
Shakil said that there were four crew members and 29 passengers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Canada, China, India, France, and Switzerland on board.
S2-AGQ - Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 lies on the grass at Yangon Airport | CollectedHe said a special Biman flight left Dhaka for Yangon at 11:25pm after receiving permission from Myanmar Civil Aviation to bring back the passengers and crew.
“Operating Captain Anis and First Officer Tabassum are flying it,” he added.
Shakil hoped that the special flight may return to Dhaka around 6am with the victim passengers and crew.
Photographs on social networking sites, including Facebook, showed the plane lying on the grass beside the runway in Yangon airport.
Yangon airport did not confirm the crash but announced that heavy rain had caused them to suspend "runway operations until further notice," reports AFP.
Rescue workers transport an injured passenger on a stretcher after a passenger aircraft of Biman Bangladesh airlines slipped off a runway at Yangon International airport in Yangon on May 8, 2019 | AFPOther incoming flights were diverted to the capital, Naypyidaw.
Biman’s Flight BG-060 took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 3:45pm.
Another senior Biman official said: "To the best of my knowledge, there were no deaths in the mishap.
"Due to bad weather, the aircraft skidded off the runway injuring some passengers and two pilots.”
Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar Manjurul Karim Khan Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that the aircraft’s front wheel broke during landing, amid rain coupled with strong wind.
The aircraft fuselage broke in three and the undercarriage collapsed, according to the Aviation Safety Network, which covers air accident and safety issues.
The ambassador said: "Nineteen people have been injured and were taken to the airport clinic. However, 11 of them have been released after they received treatment.”
"Two mission officials are currently at the clinic. I am also on my way there,” he added.
On March 12 last year, 49 people were killed after another Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop plane of US Bangla Airlines with 71 passengers and crew crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal's Kathmandu.
