A cargo plane crash in the Bay of Bengal has killed three crew members – all of them foreign nationals. The pilot of the aircraft survived, but remains in a critical condition.
The cargo aircraft was carrying shrimp fry when it crashed within five minutes after taking off around 9:30am Wednesday from the Cox's Bazar airport. It was supposed to fly to Jessore but crashed at the Naziratek Point of the bay, five kilometres off the resort town.
Local fishermen first spotted the debris, while firefighters, coast guards and navy officials pulled the pilot and the flight engineer out of the plane around noon. The bodies of the other two were recovered later around 4pm.
The deceased are flight engineer Kulish Nolri, 40; navigator Tre Kaltruv, 45; and co-pilot Julu Deemer. The pilot, Gattarov Waad, is undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Shirazi, the attending physician at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, said flight engineer Kulish Nolri was already dead when he was brought to the hospital, while the pilot, Gattarov Waad, had severe injuries to his head and right leg.
“Just after taking off, the captain of the aircraft requested an emergency landing over the radio and tried to return to the Cox’s Bazar Airport cancelling its Jessore trip. But the radio contact between the plane and the Cox’s Bazar Tower disconnected after the call,” said AKM Rezaul Karim, public relations officer for Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB).
Sadhan Kumar Mohanta, the manager of Cox's Bazar Airport, said he believes that technical fault might have caused the crash.
The cargo plane was an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft, operated by True Aviation, which is run by Moheshkhali-Kutubdia lawmaker Ashek Ullah Rafiq.
All four crew members were nationals of European countries, according to Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Jasim Uddin.
But the manager of Chittagong airport told our port city correspondent that all four crew members were from Ukraine.
Wing Commander Rezaul Kabir, manager at Shah Amanat International Airport, also said an air force rescue helicopter had joined the rescue operation.
The bodies of the three deceased were being kept at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, said the beach town's Model police station OC Aslam Hossain.
The CAAB has formed a probe committee to investigate the plane crash, civil aviation authority's PRO Rezaul said.