Two reserve fuel tanks fell off a training aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) at Raipura upazila in Narshingdi yesterday, creating panic among locals.
Police and witnesses said two BAF training planes were flying over the upazila around 11am when the locals noticed smoke coming out of one aircraft.
Later, two 20-foot, tube-like objects fell off the aircraft. One of them fell on a homestead in the upazila’s Kashimganj village, while the other fell on a cultivating land in Pibinagar village, around 500 yards away from Kashimnagar.
No injuries were reported from the incident, but it caused widespread panic among the village residents. Hundreds went to the sites to examine what had fallen off the aircraft, a few of whom reported the incident to police.
Farid Miah, a farmer in Kashimnagar, said: “I was working on my field when I hear a loud noise. Looking up, I saw a plane with smoke coming out of it. Then I saw two objects falling from the plane. I notified the upazila chairman about it. Police came to investigate later.”
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Kazi Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Raipura police station, quoted BAF Wing Commander Enamul Haque and said the objects were in fact reserved oil tanks.
“We went to the spots and secured the areas, before notifying the BAF. A BAF team led by BAF Warrant Officer Shihab Uddin reached the scene around 3:45pm,” he said.
The plane had made a safe landing in the capital’s Tejgaon airport, and BAF officials have gone there to inspect, he quoted Wing Commander Enam.