Dhaka/Agartala: A patient being airlifted from Agartala to Kolkata died on Sunday after the door of the aircraft opened while it was in Bangladeshi airspace.
The Beechcraft King Air C90A aircraft, registered as VY-HYA made an emergency landing at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after the technical glitch and the patient was rushed to a hospital, but she could not be saved.
It is yet to be ascertained whether her death had anything to do with the opening of the door.
The door opened partially while the plane was flying at an altitude of 12,000 feet. After the emergency landing, the patient, identified as 56-year-old Anjana Bhowmik, was rushed to a hospital in Dhaka where she was declared dead, as Reported by PTI.
The incident occurred around 1.40 pm. There were seven persons on board at that time, including the two pilots, the patient, two of her relatives, a doctor, and a paramedic.
The aircraft was reportedly climbing when the emergency occurred.
Anjana was taken to the Kurmitola Multicare Specialised Hospital in Dhaka, where doctors declared her dead. All the other people on board were safe. It is to be ascertained whether the death is linked to the aircraft’s technical problem or other medical complications.
Md Riaz Uddin, spokesperson for the executive director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, told The Daily Star that the aircraft developed a mechanical problem during the flight. The problem caused the aircraft’s door to open. Airport Police Station officer-in-charge Kamrul Hasan Talukder told the newspaper that Bhowmik died at the hospital at around 4:40 pm local time on Sunday.
The Bangladeshi authorities helped the air ambulance to land on humanitarian grounds despite it not having required clearance for an international landing. The Indian High Commission in Dhaka worked with Bangladeshi officials to complete the necessary formalities following the incident,
The aircraft was reportedly being operated by India’s SKB Infracon Pvt Ltd.