Biman passenger ‘dies mid-flight’

A Biman passenger fell ill and died two and a half hours into a flight to London from Sylhet on Monday. British citizen Shuaibur Rahman Chowdhury initially fell ill and then died, according to the flight log obtained by this paper.

According to the flight log, the plane took off on November 12, 2023, at 4:16am GMT/UTC, approximately 10:15am Bangladesh time.

"Cabin chief flight purser at approximately 6:55 UTC informed me about a passenger [who] became sick and [was] given first aid with oxygen, later cabin chief flight purser informed that passenger is presumed dead," it added.

However, the plane did not make an emergency landing and flew for nine more hours to the UK.

According to protocol, the moment a passenger has a medical emergency, the plane should send out an SOS declaring a medical emergency and prepare to land at the nearest airport possible.

All airports are equipped to handle medical emergencies, a process in which the nearest hospitals are alerted and ambulances and paramedics are kept on standby, according to sources in Biman.

Asked why the pilot did not land at the nearest airport, he said, "My aim was to save him, not organise a funeral. He was already presumed dead."

Biman country head in London Irteza Kamal Chowdhury said Biman was yet to investigate the matter.