Bangladesh to mourn US-Bangla plane crash victims Thursday

Bangladesh will mourn the victims of US-Bangla plane crash on Thursday as the nation is grappling with the shock of its worst airline disaster.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 14 March 2018, 06:15 AM
Updated : 14 March 2018, 11:15 AM

At least 49 people died in the crash in Kathmandu, triggering questions over the handling of the flight during landing and communications between the pilots and the air traffic control tower.

The aircraft veered off its course and crashed short of the runway at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport, with 71 people on board. In shocking scenes, the plane broke apart and burst into flames.

The dead include 26 Bangladesh nationals, including the four crew members.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was on an official visit to Singapore, cut short her trip and rushed back home to Dhaka on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Hasina convened an emergency meeting, where it has been decided that the nation will pass a mourning day on Thursday for the victims.

Principal Secretary to the PM Nojibur Rahman told the media that the flag will fly at half mast across the country.

The meeting also decided to hold special prayers for the victims on Friday at mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and all other places of worship in the country, said Deputy Press Secretary to the PM Ashraful Alam Khokon.

The high-level meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office was attended by cabinet members Mohammad Nasim, Asaduzzaman Khan, the PM’s Political Affairs Adviser HT Imam, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman M Naim Hassan, chiefs of the armed forces and officials from related ministries and the PMO.

Hasina called on the people of the country to be patient and said the priority is the treatment of those injured in the crash, according to Secretary Rahman.

Quoting the PM, he said, efforts were on to bring back the bodies of Bangladeshis as soon as possible.

A team Bangladesh doctors, specialised in burn injuries, has been kept ready to fly to Kathmandu, said the PMO official adding a police team will also fly to collect DNA samples from the dead.

“If the survivors want, the government will bring back them to treat here at the burns unit in Bangladesh as it offers quality medical care,” said Rahman.

He added that US-Bangla Airlines is ready to transfer the two ‘critically injured’ victims to a third country for better treatment.