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An air ambulance carrying an Indian patient made an emergency landing in Dhaka after its door partially opened mid-flight. The patient later died in hospital, though any link to the malfunction remains unclear.
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Dhaka,Oct 19, 2026 11:42 IST
An Indian woman died after an air ambulance carrying her made an emergency landing in Bangladesh when a technical fault caused the aircraft's door to partially open mid-air, local media reported, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The aircraft, which was flying from Agartala to Kolkata on Sunday, landed safely at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal Airport with seven people on board. All the other occupants were safe.
The Beechcraft King Air C90A aircraft, registered as VT-HYA, developed the fault while climbing through 12,000 feet, Bangladesh's state-owned BSS news agency reported. It landed at the airport at around 1.40 pm local time.
Those on board included two pilots, a patient, a doctor, a paramedic and two companions. The patient, identified as 56-year-old Anjana Bhowmik, was taken to Kurmitola Multicare Specialised Hospital, where doctors declared her dead, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kamrul Hasan Talukder told The Daily Star that Bhowmik died at the hospital at 4.40 pm local time on Sunday, PTI reported.
The exact circumstances of her death remain unclear. It is not known whether it was linked to the aircraft's technical fault or other medical complications.
Md Riaz Uddin, spokesperson for the executive director of Hazrat Shahjalal Airport, told The Daily Star that the aircraft developed a mechanical problem during the flight, causing its door to open.
Bangladeshi authorities assisted the air ambulance on humanitarian grounds despite it not having the required clearance for an international landing, BSS reported. The Indian High Commission in Dhaka coordinated with Bangladeshi officials to complete the necessary diplomatic formalities.
The aircraft, operated by India's SKB Infracon Pvt Ltd, remained at Dhaka airport while the authorities worked to resolve the clearance issues, The Daily Star reported.
The air ambulance landed safely in Dhaka after developing a mid-air technical fault, but the 56-year-old patient later died in hospital. The cause of her death remains unclear, while the six other people on board were reported safe.
With PTI Inputs
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