South Africa apologise for drone security breach

Dhaka: South Africa’s cricket team apologised on Thursday to the Bangladesh military for using a drone at a practice session in Dhaka and breaching national security ahead of the start of their tour.

Bangladesh cricket authorities ordered a halt to use of the drone, which had been taking photos of the South African players during the Proteas’ first practice on Wednesday.

“The Proteas’ behind-the-scenes TV crew brought the drone over to try and obtain creative views and images to use for our YouTube channel,” team manager Mohammad Moosajee said.

“We were unaware of the strict security protocols with regards to the Bangladesh airspace and have subsequently stopped using the device.

“We do apologise to the Bangladesh military and security forces for any inconvenience this may have caused,” he said in an email to AFP.

Ground staff were taken by a surprise when they saw the device overhead, controlled on the ground by a South Africa team official.

“South Africa team has been told that the drone camera cannot be used because of certain restrictions. We are really happy that they’ve taken it in true spirit,” a Bangladesh Cricket Official said, declining to be named.

BCB officials said the country’s civil aviation authority last December banned all unmanned aerial vehicles in its airspace without prior permission for national security as well as general safety reasons.

South Africa arrived in Bangladesh this week to play two Twenty20 internationals, three one-day internationals and two Tests against the home side.

The series starts with the first Twenty20 international on July 5 in Dhaka.