Bangladesh Air Force pilot Tahmid still missing three days after jet crash in sea

Rescue teams have failed to locate Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) pilot Rummon Tahmid Chowdhury alive or dead three days into the fighter jet crash in the Bay of Bengal.

Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard conducted search for the flight lieutenant of the F-7 fighter jet on Wednesday.

Top officials of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard visited the site of the crash in the Bravo Anchorage of the Bay at Chittagong in the afternoon.

Coast Guard East Zone official Lieutenant Durul Huda told bdnews24.com in the evening they were conducting the search following instructions from the top officials.

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 Wednesday.

‘Shurabhi’ is using a ‘side scan sonar’, which the officials say is the last hope to find the missing plane if it sank to the seabed.

The officials on Wednesday said the search would continue for several more days.

The family of Tahmid was waiting at BAF Base Zahurul Haque in Chittagong for the second night.

His uncle Anwarul Qader Chowdhury, quoting Air Force officials, said many things would be clear once the cockpit was found.

“If Tahmid had ejected from the cockpit with a lifejacket before the plane crashed, he would be able to survive in the sea. We still hope that he is alive, floating,” he said.