Bangladesh commandos shoot purported hijacker of Biman Bangladesh plane

REUTERS - Bangladeshi commandoes shot a passenger on Sunday (February 24) who had tried to enter the cockpit of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight after waving a gun and threatening to blow up the plane, airline and aviation authority officials said. The passenger, who had said he had a personal issue with his wife and told the pilot he wanted to speak to Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, died later from the injuries suffered after the commandos stormed the plane at Chittagong's Shah Amanat International Airport. The man's threat to blow up the plane, which was on its way to Dubai from Dhaka via Chittagong, led its pilots to make an emergency landing. With the plane close to Chittagong after leaving Dhaka, the passenger stood up from his seat and tried to go to the cockpit, according to aviation officials. When a member of the crew blocked his way, he showed his pistol. He then said he had explosives and if they didn't open the door of the cockpit he would blow up the plane, officials said. It was not immediately clear if he had explosives, though the pistol was real, according to a senior aviation official. It also wasn't immediately clear if the pistol was loaded or how it got through security. Before the commandos moved in, all 142 passengers and most of the crew had been let off the aircraft unharmed. One crew member had been held hostage, the officials said.