Dhaka, November 27 (Dhaka Tribune):A Bangladesh Biman aircraft with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on-board made an emergency landing in an international airport in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat on Sunday, due to a technical fault discovered mid air, Biman Bangladesh said.
The plane was carrying also a high-level delegation comprising of the Prime Minister and her cabinet colleagues Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and Anisul Islam Mahmud.
The prime minister was on her way to Hungary to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Budapest Water Summit 2016 slated for Monday.
The flight had taken off at 9:14am on Sunday morning.
Shakil Meraj, spokesperson for Biman Bangladesh told Dhaka Tribune that the Boeing 777 pilots had to make the emergency landing due to some mid-air technical complications.
“We diverted a London-bound flight to Ashgabat as soon as we received the news of the Prime Minister’s emergency landing. The Boeing 777-300 ER reached Turkmenistan at 4:10 pm. It will carry the PM and her entourage to Budapest. From there, the flight will revert to its original destination London.”
“Maintenance work on the plane is going on as we speak. We hope to get back on course quickly,” Meraj said.
Sheikh Hasina is a member of the UN High-Level Panel on Water. The water summit aims to chalk out the future course of action to achieve water and sanitation related SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) of the UN. It will also reflect on the progress made so far on water-related issues in the Paris climate agreement.
(The featured picture shows Bangladesh cabinet ministers and high officials seeing off Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Dhaka airport)
