Biman flight from Riyadh diverted to Sylhet after Shahjalal cargo village fire
No flights from Sylhet are departing for Dhaka
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight (BG-340) from Riyadh to Dhaka has been diverted to Sylhet's MAG Osmani International Airport after a massive fire broke out at the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital this afternoon (18 October).
The fire has forced HSIA authorities to suspend all flight operations temporarily.
The Biman flight, carrying 396 passengers, was diverted to the Sylhet airport at 3:31pm and it landed safely, the airport's Manager Hafiz Uddin Ahmed told The Business Standard.
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No Dhaka-bound flights have departed from Sylhet since the incident. Three scheduled flights were delayed until evening, leaving passengers stranded, airport authorities said.
Abdus Samad, a passenger from South Surma who was supposed to fly to Dhaka on a 4:30pm US-Bangla flight, said he was likely to miss his connecting flight to South Korea due to the delay.
The fire started around 2:30pm in the HSIA's cargo village area. Thirty-seven firefighting units are currently working, alongside personnel of armed forces and Ansar and VDP, to bring the blaze under control.
Dhaka airport spokesperson Md Masudul Hasan Masud said, "Preliminary reports suggest the fire originated in a section storing imported goods. All flight operations have been suspended temporarily to ensure passenger safety."
