A passenger on the Biman flight that was hijacked on its way from Dhaka to Dubai via Chittagong said the hijacker did not want to harm any passenger.
Osman Gani, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday morning from Oman took the 4pm Biman flight to visit his natal village in Chittagong.
He said: “My seat was midway through the aircraft. About 15-17 minutes after the plane took off, I saw a man carrying a backpack walk from the back of the plane to the cockpit.
“Soon after he entered the cockpit, we heard a commotion. We could not see anything, but we heard loud voices.”
Osman said a female flight attendant stepped out from inside the cockpit and asked the other flight attendants to help her with a problem.
“The other flight attendants were at the back of the plane. They were too afraid to approach the cockpit. Many passengers were annoyed at their reluctance, the hijacker too perhaps felt that way, because he stepped out and grabbed the flight attendant and held her in from him, and threatened to shoot if any of us dared to move.
“We were extremely terrified because of his shouting and threats. Aircraft hijackings are serious business, and I do not think anyone imagined themselves to be in this situation.
“It was obvious that we all felt the same – paralyzed by sheer terror and crippling anxiety.”
Osman said there were loud noises inside the aircraft, but he could not confirm they were gunshots.
“Look, a plane is completely sealed and pressurized, any loud noise could be thought of as gunshots. I did not see a gun, but that is only from where I was sitting. I have never heard a gunshot in my life, but there were several loud noises.”
The eyewitness said the aircraft was heavily bumping around during this period, constantly changing altitude and further terrifying the passengers.
He said some passengers cried and some prayed.
“When the plane landed at Chittagong Airport, everyone unfastened their seatbelts and someone was shouting at us to take the rear exit. Suddenly, the hijacker shouted 'Nobody stands up, or I will shoot’ and the flight crew also asked us to stay still.
“He was threatening to shoot after every few minutes, until suddenly two doors on both sides of the fuselage opened up and people began to stream through them.
“Some people just leaped.
“When I reached a door, I saw a ladder approaching the exit. There were two fire trucks and dozens of firemen, police, and army outside.”
Osman was safely evacuated with other passengers and flight crew and whisked to the terminal. He said he did not see anyone bleeding or with other injuries consistent with gunshots.
