Dhaka, Oct 19: A Tripura woman died at a hospital in Dhaka after an air ambulance carrying her from Agartala to Kolkata made an emergency landing in Bangladesh on Sunday.
The Beechcraft King Air C90A aircraft, registered as VT-HYA, was climbing through 12,000 feet when it developed a cabin pressurisation fault that caused the aircraft’s main door to partially open mid-flight.
A statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), cited by the state-owned BSS news agency, confirmed the technical fault.
The pilot declared an emergency and diverted the aircraft to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, where it landed safely at around 1.40 pm Bangladesh time.
Seven people were on board, including two pilots, the patient, a doctor, a paramedic and two companions, BSS reported.
The patient, identified as 56-year-old Anjana Bhowmik, was taken to Kurmitola Multicare Specialised Hospital, where doctors declared her dead, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kamrul Hasan Talukder told The Daily Star that Bhowmik died at the hospital at 4.40 pm local time on Sunday.
The precise medical cause of her death has not been established in the reports available. It remains unclear whether the aircraft’s malfunction had any bearing on her death.
Md Riaz Uddin, spokesperson for the executive director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, told The Daily Star that the aircraft had developed a mechanical problem that caused its door to open during the flight.
The aircraft was operated by India’s SKB Infracon Pvt Ltd. It remained at Dhaka airport as authorities worked to resolve clearance formalities following its unscheduled international landing, The Daily Star reported.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka coordinated with Bangladeshi authorities to facilitate the necessary diplomatic clearances. The other six people on board were reported to be safe.
PTI