Panic and smoke as plane halts

Dubai: Forget your baggage, save your lives was the refrain in the cabin as it filled with smoke.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight BG006 from Dubai to Dhaka failed to take off at around 6.30am yesterday. The aircraft aborted take off after a technical glitch, which caused it to skid and fall on its nose.

Passengers were evacuated and taken to hotels in the city. Many were seen trying desperately to get in touch with their family and friends both in the UK and Bangladesh.

The majority of the passengers said they had boarded the flight from London and were on their way to Dhaka via Dubai. They said there was pandemonium in the aircraft .

The passengers were all evacuated with the help of the emergency chutes when the aircraft was brought to a halt. Many of them said they got hurt as one of the emergency chutes on the left side failed to touch the ground.

Cries and screams

They said that the aircraft had picked up momentum to take off but instead skidded on the runway.

"I fell on my back and got my arms and neck sprained," said Abdul Qader, a passenger who was travelling along with his 22-year-old daughter Noorjahan.

The passengers said no one listened to the announcements that were being made by the cabin crew to remain calm.

"Even before the aircraft could stop, many of the passengers just got up from their seats trying to reach out for their hand baggage from the overhead cabins. Children were crying, mothers were screaming.

"Everyone thought that at any given moment the aircraft was just going to explode," said a passenger, 55-year-old Abdul Bashar, who sustained bruises on his feet, hands and legs.

He said panic gripped the passengers when the aircraft cabin filled with black smoke making it difficult to breathe.

"I thought my life was going to end and started crying and at the same time saying my prayers. I had a brush with death and believe me I was so scared," said Aklisun, a Bangladeshi housewife who hurt her leg and an eye.

"When the aircraft came to a halt, all the passengers who were seated in the back seats fell on the ones who were seated into the front rows," said Nuruzzaman, another passenger.

"The airplane started to take off, and about 30 seconds later it became very bumpy and after that I heard a bang and the plane started to shake," recalled Mohammad Jahn, 30.

He said: "The cabin crew were also panicking. Initially nothing was done by the crew to help us, and they refused to open the door, saying that there was nothing to worry about."