Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Civil Aviation Authority announced on Wednesday night that a bomb was found on a Malaysian Airlines plane after a thorough search of passengers, their luggage, and aircraft at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA). The news has turned out to be ‘baseless’. HSIA Executive Director Group Captain AHM Tauheed-ul-Ehsan told a press conference after midnight on the completion of the extensive security search, “The information we received on a phone call from Malaysia turned out to be baseless. Nothing has been found.
He said the search operation was carried out by calling Army commandos, Bomb Disposal Units of the Air Force, Specialized Anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and various intelligence agencies and firefighters as per ‘our SOP’ or standard operating procedure. Ehsan declined to reveal the identity of the caller but said that RAB had received the call.
Subsequent talks with Malaysian officials and intelligence reports also suggested there was no such threat on the plane. He said that the cabin of the aircraft, passengers, and their luggage was thoroughly checked to comply with the SOP as it was a matter of safety for all. According to the airport official, there were 135 passengers on board, including 134 Bangladeshis and one Malaysian national.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at HSIA at around 9.40 pm on Wednesday night, following which commandos and security agencies rushed to the scene, and firefighters and ambulances were kept on alert. Airport officials had earlier said that the passengers were later disembarked after a thorough security check, while the plane was taken to a safe location away from the terminal area for baggage and cabin checks.
