Bangladesh pilot Tahmid remains untraced on the second day of sea search after fighter jet crash

A daylong search in the Bay of Bengal has failed to find the pilot of the crashed fighter jet of Bangladesh Air Force.

Rescuers could not find any debris of the F-7 fighter on Tuesday.

Coast Guard East Zone official Lieutenant Durul Huda told bdnews24.com in the evening that they were facing problems to run the search due to rough weather.

“We are a little frustrated. There was no sign of the pilot. It is more or less certain that there is nothing on the surface.

“The plane might have sunken to the seabed,” he said.

In such case, people related to the search said, the only hope to find the plane was to use ‘side scan sonar’.

“The only hope is navy vessel ‘Shurabhi’. It is continuing search using ‘side scan sonar’,” Huda said.

A senior BAF official said the search will continue.

Navy vessels ‘Atandra’, ‘Madhumati’, and ‘Shurabhi’, along with coast guard ship ‘Toufique’, three metal shark boats and three helicopters of the Air Force took part in the search on Tuesday.

Flight Lieutenant Rumman Tahmid Chowdhury. Photo taken from Facebook

Flight Lieutenant Rumman Tahmid Chowdhury went missing after the crash in the Bravo Anchorage of the Bay at Chittagong during a training flight around noon on Monday.

His family was at BAF Base Zahurul Haque in Chittagong on Tuesday, waiting for any news on him.

Coastguards found two pieces of debris from the jet on Monday afternoon.

The control room at BAF Zahurul Haque base lost contact with Tahmid’s jet around 11:10am after takeoff.

After 30 minutes, it was confirmed that the fighter had crashed six miles off Patenga coast.

Md Babul Haider, watchman of MV Alexander, witnessed the aircraft crash into the sea from the ship at Chittagong port’s outer anchorage.

“It was 11:20am. I briefly saw him (pilot, perhaps) raise his hands above water. I showed the location to the navy and coast guard when they arrived,” he told bdnews24.com.

‘I’ll come home on Eid’

Tahmid, son of Abdul Qader Chowdhury from Chittagong’s Anwara, joined BAF in December 2010.

He is the eldest among three brothers and a sister.

His relatives said he was scheduled to return to Dhaka, where his family was living now.

“He used to ask about the studies of his brothers and sister. He cared a lot about them,” Tahmid’s uncle Anwarul Qader told bdnews24.com.

“He spoke to his mother by telephone on Sunday. He said he would go to Dhaka on Eid vacation,” he said.

His brother ‘Tamzid’ said they hoped something would be known.

“We are waiting at the Zahurul Haque Base. We urge the people to pray for (brother’s) return,” he added.